Raymond James & Associates Sells 10,606 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Raymond James & Associates lowered its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 142,315 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 10,606 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Nucor were worth $21,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NUE. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its stake in Nucor by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,630 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 94.2% during the first quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.1% in the second quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 3.3% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in Nucor by 3.3% during the second quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,401 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $141.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $133.42 and a 1-year high of $203.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $147.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.85.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.57 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,847,840. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.