Allen Capital Group LLC Trims Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Allen Capital Group LLC trimmed its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,543 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 489 shares during the period. Allen Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NUE. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Nucor by 129.0% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in Nucor by 45.6% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $151.90 on Friday. 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 $133.42 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $149.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.20. The company has a market cap of $35.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 1.55.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s payout ratio is 20.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on NUE shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus upgraded Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.57.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,499,436. This trade represents a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.