Vestcor Inc Increases Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Vestcor Inc boosted its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,965 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,373 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position 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 valued at $239,819,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576,695 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Nucor by 29.7% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new position in Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at about $74,829,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 326,181 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Nucor by 14,525.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 326,889 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,144,000 after acquiring an additional 324,654 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Price Performance

NYSE NUE opened at $140.57 on Wednesday. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $133.42 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The stock has a market cap of $33.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.58 and a beta of 1.55. The company’s 50 day moving average is $150.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.29. 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 (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. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s payout ratio is 20.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.50.

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.