Sapient Capital LLC Reduces Position in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Sapient Capital LLC cut its holdings in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) by 43.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Nucor during the third quarter valued at about $1,528,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Nucor by 15,814.3% during the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 3,342 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 3,321 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in Nucor during the third quarter valued at about $1,085,000. Peterson Wealth Services lifted its holdings in Nucor by 587,032.0% during the third quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 146,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $19,879,000 after purchasing an additional 146,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Nucor by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,103,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $342,642,000 after purchasing an additional 210,577 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NUE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $213.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. They issued a “sector weight” rating on the stock. Seaport Research Partners reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Nucor from $196.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.45.

Nucor Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $226.23 on Tuesday. Nucor Corporation has a 12-month low of $106.21 and a 12-month high of $235.45. The company 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 current ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $191.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.65.

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

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.18%.

Nucor announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, February 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to repurchase up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,096 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.08, for a total value of $2,282,503.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 62,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,213,875.68. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Noah C. Hanners sold 6,472 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 50,377 shares in the company, valued at $11,410,390.50. This represents a 11.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 69,318 shares of company stock valued at $15,672,093 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

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.