Handelsbanken Fonder AB Raises Stock Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 52.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 69,575 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,986 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Nucor were worth $12,109,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 12,573 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,188,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Nucor by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 5,769 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,004,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Nucor by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc increased its position in shares of Nucor by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 154,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,932,000 after purchasing an additional 45,521 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $174.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $41.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $129.79 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $191.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.18.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 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 19.67%. The firm had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.45 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 12.93 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, May 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 12.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NUE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Nucor from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com lowered Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $192.83.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the sale, the insider now owns 24,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,817,153.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the sale, the insider now owns 24,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,817,153.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total value of $1,901,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,386,751.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,151 shares of company stock valued at $7,308,683 over the last quarter. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.