Private Advisor Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,461 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,760,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $625,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $222,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Nucor by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 17,104 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,977,000 after buying an additional 649 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 5,275 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $918,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC raised its position in Nucor by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC now owns 19,417 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,227 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $1,379,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 99,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,847,840. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on NUE shares. Argus upgraded shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Nucor from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $187.00 to $176.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Three equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.00.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $140.60 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $33.71 billion, a PE ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $133.42 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.09.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $8.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 15.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.81 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 9.91 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Nucor’s payout ratio is 12.71%.

About Nucor

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.