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

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 285,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 31,173 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Nucor worth $42,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Bailard Inc. grew its position in shares of Nucor by 30.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 1,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Nucor by 5.5% in the second quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 76,788 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,139,000 after purchasing an additional 4,016 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 27.2% during the second quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,419 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 946 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 738,327 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $116,715,000 after buying an additional 40,050 shares during the period. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 129.0% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,499,436. The trade was a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $116.58 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $145.93 and a 200 day moving average of $149.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $113.94 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The company has a market capitalization of $27.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.55.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The company 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 for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.57 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on NUE shares. Argus raised Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.