Banco Santander S.A. Increases Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Banco Santander S.A. increased its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 86.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,895 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,971 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,552,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth $377,631,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Nucor by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,070,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $360,430,000 after acquiring an additional 237,752 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Nucor by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,499,893 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $261,041,000 after purchasing an additional 36,304 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Nucor by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,367,209 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $237,949,000 after purchasing an additional 85,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 6.5% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,165,094 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $230,572,000 after purchasing an additional 70,917 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE traded down $3.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $162.50. The company had a trading volume of 1,564,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,606,451. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $140.07 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The stock has a market cap of $38.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.56 and a beta of 1.57. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $161.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.07.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). The firm 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%. Nucor’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.45 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Nucor’s payout ratio is 12.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NUE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, May 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.29.

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.