Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Takes Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,677 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,004,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,724,117,000 after acquiring an additional 326,181 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its holdings in Nucor by 3.2% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 652,502 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $98,097,000 after purchasing an additional 20,258 shares during the period. BIP Wealth LLC bought a new position in Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth $681,000. Ascension Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Nucor during the 2nd quarter worth about $885,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,655,000. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $125.25 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $149.13 and its 200-day moving average is $151.40. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $125.00 and a twelve month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 21.26%.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total value of $1,860,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NUE. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Argus upgraded Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.75.

Nucor Profile

Nucor Corporation engages in manufacture and sale of steel and steel products. It operates in three segments: steel mills, steel products, and raw materials. The Steel Mills segment produces hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and galvanized sheet steel products; plate steel products; wide-flange beams, beam blanks, and H-piling and sheet piling structural steel products; bar steel products, such as blooms, billets, concrete reinforcing and merchant bars, and engineered special bar quality products; and engages in the steel trading and rebar distribution businesses.