Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Purchased by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 123,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,577 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.05% of Nucor worth $21,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at $108,747,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Nucor by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,070,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $360,430,000 after purchasing an additional 237,752 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 7.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,262,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $353,794,000 after purchasing an additional 159,230 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 3.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,175,571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $652,851,000 after purchasing an additional 149,589 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 23.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 680,506 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $106,395,000 after purchasing an additional 128,536 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of Nucor stock traded up $0.38 during trading on Monday, hitting $191.74. 1,598,837 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,381,569. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 3.57 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $191.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.06. The company has a market cap of $46.01 billion, a PE ratio of 10.66 and a beta of 1.61. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $129.79 and a twelve month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.60 by ($0.14). Nucor had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The company had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.01%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total transaction of $1,025,035.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,326 shares in the company, valued at $15,902,206.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total value of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 80,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,386,751.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total value of $1,025,035.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,326 shares in the company, valued at $15,902,206.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,151 shares of company stock valued at $7,308,683 in the last three months. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on NUE shares. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.83.

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.