Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 280,534 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,301 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.11% of Nucor worth $48,824,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 82,955 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,437,000 after purchasing an additional 3,653 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 4,014 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $588,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 72,217 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,569,000 after acquiring an additional 8,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $1,052,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE stock opened at $171.27 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $129.79 and a 12 month high of $203.00. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $41.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 1.65. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $184.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.83.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 12.40%. The firm had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.45 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 12.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total value of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 80,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,386,751.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,651 shares of company stock valued at $6,283,648. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on NUE shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, May 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $192.75.

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.