Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Purchased by Ieq Capital LLC

Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,890 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the first quarter worth $90,216,000. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the first quarter worth about $37,395,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Nucor by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 804,150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $159,141,000 after buying an additional 153,077 shares during the period. Trinity Street Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in Nucor during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $19,213,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 11.6% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,069,920 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $169,433,000 after acquiring an additional 111,177 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Down 1.8 %

NUE stock opened at $146.31 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.93, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $35.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $149.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.02. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $133.42 and a 12 month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $8.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 10.45%. Nucor’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.81 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.71%.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $1,379,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,847,840. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NUE. Argus upgraded Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Nucor from $176.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Nucor from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, September 9th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.00.

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.