Hancock Whitney Corp Purchases 414 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Hancock Whitney Corp grew its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 0.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 56,602 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Nucor were worth $8,948,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NUE. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 129.0% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 94.2% in the first quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 208.0% in the first quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $1,379,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 99,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,847,840. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $146.31 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $149.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.15. The company has a market cap of $35.08 billion, a PE ratio of 8.61 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $133.42 and a twelve month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $8.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.69 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 10.45%. The business’s revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.81 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 9.95 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s payout ratio is 12.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on NUE. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Nucor from $176.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America dropped their target price on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Argus upgraded Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.00.

Nucor 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.