3,160 Shares in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Bought by Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,160 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $500,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 54.1% in the first quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 168 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its position in Nucor by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,630 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $258,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 94.2% during the first quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 2,141 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $373,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 2.1% in the second quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NUE. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Argus raised 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 boosted their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $176.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $1,379,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 99,049 shares in the company, valued at $15,847,840. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

Nucor stock opened at $150.13 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $148.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $164.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 2.93. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $133.42 and a 52-week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.37. Nucor had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 15.69%. The business had revenue of $8.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.81 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 9.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors 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 yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.71%.

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.