Covea Finance Makes New Investment in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Covea Finance acquired a new position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 50,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,836,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Nucor by 8,530.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,595,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $239,819,000 after acquiring an additional 1,576,695 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 29.7% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,884,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $456,030,000 after acquiring an additional 660,866 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nucor during the third quarter worth $74,829,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Nucor by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $205,282,000 after purchasing an additional 358,721 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Nucor by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,724,117,000 after purchasing an additional 326,181 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $121.73 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $135.85 and a 200 day moving average of $145.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $28.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $112.25 and a 12 month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.57 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on NUE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.63.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by 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.