SPC Financial Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Nucor Corporation $NUE

SPC Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) by 5.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,182 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Nucor by 25.1% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,344 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 470 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Nucor during the first quarter valued at approximately $717,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Nucor by 48.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 1,375 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its stake in Nucor by 99.8% during the first quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 5,054 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $608,000 after buying an additional 2,525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Nucor by 20.5% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 28,886 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,476,000 after buying an additional 4,914 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Down 3.2%

NUE opened at $133.68 on Friday. Nucor Corporation has a 12 month low of $97.59 and a 12 month high of $170.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market cap of $30.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $141.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $129.32.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.06. Nucor had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 4.21%.The firm had revenue of $8.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on NUE shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Nucor from $182.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on Nucor from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Nucor from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $156.60.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,051,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 92,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,458,134. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 8,021 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.38, for a total value of $1,150,050.98. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 82,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,857,956.14. The trade was a 8.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,309 shares of company stock valued at $4,553,771. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

About Nucor

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.