Granite Investment Partners LLC Decreases Holdings in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Granite Investment Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) by 63.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,969 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 5,086 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NUE. IMA Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Nucor by 51.4% in the second quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. now owns 221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. AXS Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 281.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC now owns 271 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Nucor by 81.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 340 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 7,452 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.02, for a total transaction of $1,460,741.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 76,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,020,620.56. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 3,881 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $690,818.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 88,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,717,044. The trade was a 4.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 34,351 shares of company stock valued at $6,206,158 over the last 90 days. 0.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on NUE. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 29th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on Nucor from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Friday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three 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 a consensus price target of $179.36.

Nucor Stock Performance

Nucor stock opened at $178.70 on Tuesday. Nucor Corporation has a 1-year low of $97.59 and a 1-year high of $196.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.90 billion, a PE ratio of 23.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.86. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $174.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.82.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $7.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.93 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 5.37% and a return on equity of 8.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to purchase up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.71%.

Nucor Company Profile

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.