Nucor Corporation $NUE Stock: Profund Advisors LLC Trims Holdings

Profund Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) by 31.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,461 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,531 shares during the quarter. Profund Advisors LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,452,563,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Nucor during the second quarter worth $462,886,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Nucor by 0.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,539,044 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $429,298,000 after acquiring an additional 22,718 shares during the period. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new position in Nucor in the second quarter worth $413,814,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Nucor in the second quarter worth $330,902,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NUE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Nucor from $306.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Nucor in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Nucor from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.44.

Nucor Stock Up 1.4%

Nucor stock opened at $277.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.84. Nucor Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $140.93 and a fifty-two week high of $287.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $254.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.97.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The basic materials company reported $5.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.84 by ($0.04). Nucor had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 9.26%. The firm had revenue of $11.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 32.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Nucor Corporation will post 19.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Nucor’s payout ratio is presently 14.26%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Noah Hanners sold 5,190 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.03, for a total value of $1,427,405.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 44,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,121,397.19. This represents a 10.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 11,846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.90, for a total transaction of $3,232,773.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 58,022 shares in the company, valued at $15,834,203.80. This represents a 16.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Profile

Nucor Corporation is a steel producer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company manufactures steel and steel products for customers in construction, automotive, energy, heavy equipment, transportation and other industrial markets.

Nucor’s operations include electric arc furnace steel mills, which produce carbon, alloy and galvanized steel products. Its product portfolio includes sheet steel, plate, beams, bars, wire and wire mesh, steel joists, deck, piling, fabricated concrete reinforcing steel and other downstream products.