Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by Cornerstone Advisors LLC

Cornerstone Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 13.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 5,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $822,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Nucor by 129.0% during the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 94.2% during the first quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 208.0% in the first quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $1,379,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,049 shares in the company, valued at $15,847,840. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE opened at $142.18 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $150.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.72. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $133.42 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $34.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.36 and a beta of 1.55.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.37. Nucor had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 10.45%. The company had revenue of $8.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on NUE shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Nucor from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $187.00 to $176.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Argus upgraded shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $170.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, September 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $195.00.

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.