Sapient Capital LLC Sells 2,816 Shares of Nucor Corporation $NUE

Sapient Capital LLC lowered its stake in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) by 43.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,684 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,816 shares during the quarter. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NUE. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 580.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 653,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $84,699,000 after acquiring an additional 557,819 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Nucor by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,042,761 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $412,081,000 after purchasing an additional 509,019 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in Nucor by 169.0% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 779,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $127,216,000 after purchasing an additional 489,950 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Nucor by 494.5% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 434,511 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $70,873,000 after purchasing an additional 361,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP increased its stake in Nucor by 146.9% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 548,911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $74,339,000 after purchasing an additional 326,572 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NUE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Nucor from $196.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Nucor from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.45.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE NUE opened at $226.23 on Tuesday. Nucor Corporation has a 1 year low of $106.21 and a 1 year high of $235.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market cap of $51.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $191.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.65.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.41. Nucor had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 6.82%.The firm had revenue of $9.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.88 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Nucor Corporation will post 14.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.18%.

Nucor declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to reacquire up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, EVP Noah C. Hanners sold 6,472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.50, for a total transaction of $1,465,908.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 50,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,410,390.50. This represents a 11.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,096 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.08, for a total transaction of $2,282,503.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 62,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,213,875.68. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 69,318 shares of company stock valued at $15,672,093 in the last 90 days. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Nucor

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) is an American steel producer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company is primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of steel and steel products, operating a network of steel mills, recycling facilities and fabrication plants across the United States and North America. Nucor’s operations emphasize electric arc furnace steelmaking using recycled scrap metal, which supports a decentralized, mill-based production model focused on efficiency and flexibility.

Product offerings span a broad range of basic and value‑added steel items, including sheet, plate, merchant bar, structural beams, reinforcing bar, tubing, fasteners and fabricated components.