abrdn plc Acquires 45,521 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

abrdn plc boosted its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 41.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 154,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,521 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc’s holdings in Nucor were worth $26,932,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 716.7% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2,410.0% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 41.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 306 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total transaction of $1,025,035.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,326 shares in the company, valued at $15,902,206.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total transaction of $1,901,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at $15,386,751.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total value of $1,025,035.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,902,206.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Down 8.9 %

NYSE:NUE opened at $174.64 on Wednesday. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $129.79 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The company has a market cap of $41.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.18. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 12.40%. The business had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on NUE. StockNews.com lowered Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Nucor from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Nucor in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $192.83.

About Nucor

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.