First Financial Bank Trust Division Decreases Stock Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

First Financial Bank Trust Division reduced its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,518 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 175 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NUE. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,481,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Nucor by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 262,385 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $45,665,000 after acquiring an additional 15,058 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in Nucor by 53.2% in the 4th quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 13,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after acquiring an additional 4,592 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at $1,230,000. Finally, abrdn plc lifted its holdings in Nucor by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 154,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,932,000 after purchasing an additional 45,521 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on NUE shares. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. StockNews.com lowered Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, May 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Nucor from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $188.38.

Nucor Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NUE traded down $2.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $155.10. 619,841 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,420,847. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $173.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $178.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 4.02 and a quick ratio of 2.48. The stock has a market cap of $37.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.26 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $140.07 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 12.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.45 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 11.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Nucor news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total transaction of $3,772,655.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 120,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor Company 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.