HighTower Advisors LLC Has $9.28 Million Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 61,817 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,557 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $9,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 129.0% during 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 during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in Nucor by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. 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. Argus raised shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the company’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 value of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Down 2.1 %

NYSE NUE opened at $142.57 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $150.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $152.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.77 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $133.42 and a fifty-two week 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.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion during 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%. Nucor’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.57 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s payout ratio is 20.87%.

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.