Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Increases Stock Position in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 53,056 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,213 shares during the quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Nucor were worth $8,654,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,528,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 15,814.3% during the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 3,342 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 3,321 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,085,000. Peterson Wealth Services lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 587,032.0% during the 3rd quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 146,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $19,879,000 after buying an additional 146,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,103,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $342,642,000 after buying an additional 210,577 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Stock Performance

Nucor stock opened at $229.77 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $187.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.90. The stock has a market cap of $52.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.87. Nucor Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $106.21 and a fifty-two week high of $235.44.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.41. Nucor had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The firm had revenue of $9.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.77 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Nucor Corporation will post 13.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to reacquire up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.18%.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 12,888 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.00, for a total transaction of $2,912,688.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 89,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,277,624. This trade represents a 12.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Noah C. Hanners sold 6,472 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.50, for a total transaction of $1,465,908.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 50,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,410,390.50. This represents a 11.38% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 69,318 shares of company stock worth $15,672,093 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on NUE. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $190.00 to $224.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.80.

About Nucor

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) is an American steel producer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company is primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of steel and steel products, operating a network of steel mills, recycling facilities and fabrication plants across the United States and North America. Nucor’s operations emphasize electric arc furnace steelmaking using recycled scrap metal, which supports a decentralized, mill-based production model focused on efficiency and flexibility.

Product offerings span a broad range of basic and value‑added steel items, including sheet, plate, merchant bar, structural beams, reinforcing bar, tubing, fasteners and fabricated components.