Nucor Corporation $NUE Stock Acquired by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. grew its holdings in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) by 33.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 23,624 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,876 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $5,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in Nucor during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. GK Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Nucor in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Next Level Wealth Planning LLC bought a new stake in Nucor in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen Behr sold 11,846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.90, for a total value of $3,232,773.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 58,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,834,203.80. This trade represents a 16.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Noah C. Hanners sold 5,190 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.03, for a total transaction of $1,427,405.70. Following the transaction, 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,732 shares of company stock worth $7,881,287. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on NUE. Weiss Ratings upgraded Nucor from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Nucor from $224.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $270.00 target price on shares of Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $287.38.

Nucor Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $256.72 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.24 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.81. Nucor Corporation has a 52 week low of $141.33 and a 52 week high of $287.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $255.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $226.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 2.46.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The basic materials company reported $5.80 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the company earned $2.63 earnings per share. Nucor’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nucor Corporation will post 19.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. Nucor’s payout ratio is 14.26%.

Nucor Company Profile

Nucor Corporation is a U.S.-based steel and steel products manufacturer. Its steel mills produce sheet, plate, bar, structural steel and reinforcing bar used in construction, manufacturing, transportation and other industries. The company also makes downstream products such as steel joists, decking, fasteners, wire products and metal building components. Its operations include recycling ferrous scrap and producing direct reduced iron, materials used in steelmaking. Nucor traces its roots to 1905 and developed into a steel producer during the mid-20th century.