Empirical Asset Management LLC Buys New Stake in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Empirical Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $471,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Nucor by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,407,540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,633,554,000 after purchasing an additional 144,038 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,452,563,000. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,853,205 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $628,497,000 after buying an additional 41,728 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $609,002,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Nucor by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,539,044 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $429,298,000 after buying an additional 22,718 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

Nucor stock opened at $264.74 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $247.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $215.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Nucor Corporation has a 12-month low of $131.32 and a 12-month high of $280.11.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $4.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.46 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $10.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 12.73%. The company’s revenue was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Nucor Corporation will post 17.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 17.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. CICC Research began coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, May 25th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.31.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP John J. Hollatz sold 10,560 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.46, for a total value of $2,729,337.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 97,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,294,187.90. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Stephen D. Laxton sold 3,968 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.96, for a total value of $1,019,617.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,008,704.32. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 18,528 shares of company stock valued at $4,793,035 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Company Profile

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) is an American steel producer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company is primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of steel and steel products, operating a network of steel mills, recycling facilities and fabrication plants across the United States and North America. Nucor’s operations emphasize electric arc furnace steelmaking using recycled scrap metal, which supports a decentralized, mill-based production model focused on efficiency and flexibility.

Product offerings span a broad range of basic and value?added steel items, including sheet, plate, merchant bar, structural beams, reinforcing bar, tubing, fasteners and fabricated components.