Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 31,173 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 9.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 285,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 31,173 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $42,909,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Nucor by 129.0% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Nucor during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Nucor during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 45.6% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at $14,499,436. This trade represents a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 over the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NUE stock opened at $116.58 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The business has a 50-day moving average of $145.93 and a 200 day moving average of $149.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.37 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $113.94 and a 1-year high of $203.00.

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

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus raised Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.75.

Nucor 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.