Denali Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Denali Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) by 48.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,122 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,005 shares during the quarter. Denali Advisors LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $793,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Nucor by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,959,327 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,484,965,000 after purchasing an additional 745,671 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Nucor by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,309,452 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $277,920,000 after purchasing an additional 355,364 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Nucor by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,856,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $244,059,000 after purchasing an additional 177,420 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Nucor by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,772,831 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $213,342,000 after purchasing an additional 92,363 shares during the period. Finally, Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Nucor during the 1st quarter valued at $194,804,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $136.51 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $31.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.64, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.75. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $140.70 and its 200 day moving average is $130.25. Nucor Corporation has a 1 year low of $97.59 and a 1 year 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.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.47 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 4.21% and a return on equity of 6.65%. Nucor’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on NUE shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $182.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 6,088 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.41, for a total value of $903,520.08. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,464 shares in the company, valued at $3,333,882.24. The trade was a 21.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 92,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,458,134. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,309 shares of company stock worth $4,553,771. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Nucor Company 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.