KBC Group NV Buys 26,655 Shares of Nucor Corporation $NUE

KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) by 52.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 26,655 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Nucor were worth $13,122,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $609,002,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 580.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 653,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $84,699,000 after purchasing an additional 557,819 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Nucor by 169.0% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 779,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $127,216,000 after purchasing an additional 489,950 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Nucor by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,780,423 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $290,405,000 after purchasing an additional 383,952 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 494.5% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 434,511 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $70,873,000 after buying an additional 361,417 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp upgraded Nucor from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $274.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Argus boosted their price objective on Nucor from $200.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Nucor from $260.00 to $284.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Nucor from $292.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $266.31.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $233.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $53.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.09, a P/E/G ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 1.91. Nucor Corporation has a 52-week low of $131.32 and a 52-week high of $270.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $239.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $202.86.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $9.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.88 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The business’s revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Nucor Corporation will post 17.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.18%.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP John J. Hollatz sold 10,560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.46, for a total transaction of $2,729,337.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 97,865 shares in the company, valued at $25,294,187.90. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Noah C. Hanners sold 6,472 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.50, for a total value of $1,465,908.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 50,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,410,390.50. The trade was a 11.38% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 82,378 shares of company stock valued at $18,963,930 in the last 90 days. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Nucor

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.