Argent Trust Co Trims Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Argent Trust Co decreased its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 13.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,413 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 213 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Nucor were worth $223,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Nucor by 5.6% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 108,428 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,129,000 after buying an additional 5,763 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,651,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in Nucor by 20.3% during the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,576 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Nucor by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 9,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in Nucor by 46.0% in the 2nd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,550 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $719,000 after purchasing an additional 1,433 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,379,840.00. Following the transaction, 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 through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE:NUE opened at $146.31 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $133.42 and a 1-year high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.93 and a quick ratio of 1.85. The business has a 50 day moving average of $149.66 and a 200 day moving average of $166.15. The company has a market capitalization of $35.08 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $8.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.69 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 15.69%. The firm’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.81 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 9.95 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, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.71%.

Nucor Company 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.