Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. Acquires 1,059 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,827 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,059 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Nucor by 129.0% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 94.2% during the 1st quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp grew its stake in Nucor by 208.0% in the 1st quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NUE. Argus upgraded Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $176.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.00.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $146.31 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $149.66 and a 200-day moving average of $166.02. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $133.42 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.93, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.08 billion, a PE ratio of 8.61 and a beta of 1.55.

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

Nucor Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $1,379,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,847,840. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.