Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Purchases New Stake in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 5,540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,234,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 0.5% in 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 during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,452,563,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings 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 stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth about $609,002,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew 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 during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE NUE opened at $243.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $55.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.89. Nucor Corporation has a 12-month low of $131.32 and a 12-month high of $280.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $246.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $216.80.

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

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, COO Stephen D. Laxton sold 3,968 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.96, for a total value of $1,019,617.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,008,704.32. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Hollatz sold 10,560 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.46, for a total value of $2,729,337.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 97,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,294,187.90. The trade was a 9.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 18,528 shares of company stock worth $4,793,035 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on NUE. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Nucor from $272.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Nucor from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. KeyCorp raised Nucor from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $274.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Nucor from $210.00 to $248.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.31.

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.