Prospera Financial Services Inc Reduces Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Prospera Financial Services Inc lowered its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 8.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,461 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 401 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Nucor were worth $671,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $291,000. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $232,000. OneAscent Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in Nucor by 25.7% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,283,111 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $192,902,000 after buying an additional 262,493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Nucor by 1.0% in the third quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,210 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,241,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

NUE opened at $151.92 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $35.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $154.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $133.42 and a 52-week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.57 EPS. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend 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%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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