American National Bank & Trust Co. VA Purchases New Shares in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

American National Bank & Trust Co. VA purchased a new stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,643 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $325,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 153,698 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,031,000 after purchasing an additional 4,003 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Nucor by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 2,066 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 319.7% during the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 13,727 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,146,000 after purchasing an additional 10,456 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in Nucor by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 567,043 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $88,657,000 after purchasing an additional 6,219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Nucor by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 12,466 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,949,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $156.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 4.02. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $165.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.51. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $140.07 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.50 billion, a PE ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 1.57.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The business had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.45 earnings per share. Nucor’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 10.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Citigroup upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, May 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $189.67.

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.