Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Boosts Stock Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,020,618 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 95,870 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.43% of Nucor worth $161,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,909,388 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $617,915,000 after purchasing an additional 84,558 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Nucor by 29.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,884,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $456,030,000 after acquiring an additional 660,866 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Nucor by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,367,209 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $237,949,000 after purchasing an additional 85,475 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Nucor by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,165,094 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $230,572,000 after purchasing an additional 70,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,069,920 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $169,433,000 after purchasing an additional 111,177 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $146.31 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $35.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.61 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $149.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.93 and a quick ratio of 1.85. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $133.42 and a 12 month high of $203.00.

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

Nucor Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $1,379,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 99,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,847,840. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.