Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 2.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 158,375 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,887 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.07% of Nucor worth $23,810,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,499,436. The trade was 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 through this link. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at $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 ninety days, insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE stock opened at $154.69 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $150.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.42. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $133.42 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The company has a market capitalization of $36.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 1.55.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.57 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s payout ratio is 20.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NUE has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.