Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. Buys Shares of 70,188 Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. bought a new stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 70,188 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,095,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at about $377,631,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $90,216,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $37,395,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 804,150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $159,141,000 after buying an additional 153,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trinity Street Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $19,213,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In related news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,049 shares in the company, valued at $15,847,840. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NUE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised Nucor from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $187.00 to $176.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Nucor in a research note on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Nucor from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $194.43.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE stock traded up $1.51 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $147.73. 947,509 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,462,518. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $139.41 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 1.57. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $154.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $172.01. 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 (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.37. Nucor had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 10.45%. The company had revenue of $8.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.81 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 10.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.71%.

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.