ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 21,352 Shares of Nucor Corporation $NUE

ProShare Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,208,487 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 21,352 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $197,116,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stance Capital LLC bought a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. AXS Investments LLC bought a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC grew its stake in Nucor by 281.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC now owns 271 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC bought a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth about $41,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 4,554 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.86, for a total transaction of $1,028,566.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,802,127.24. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 12,888 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.00, for a total transaction of $2,912,688.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 89,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,277,624. The trade was a 12.56% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 69,318 shares of company stock valued at $15,672,093. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor Price Performance

NYSE NUE opened at $226.23 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $191.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.65. Nucor Corporation has a 52-week low of $106.21 and a 52-week high of $235.45. The company has a market cap of $51.52 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.87.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor Corporation will post 14.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to reacquire up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Nucor Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NUE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $196.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $213.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $200.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. One 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $245.45.

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.