MAI Capital Management Trims Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

MAI Capital Management decreased its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,229 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,868 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management’s holdings in Nucor were worth $936,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Nucor by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,283,111 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $192,902,000 after purchasing an additional 262,493 shares in the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of 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. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 8,530.1% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,595,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $239,819,000 after buying an additional 1,576,695 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC boosted its position in Nucor by 2.6% during the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 36,436 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,478,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total value of $1,860,210.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,923,837.96. This represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 in the last quarter. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $149.99 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $149.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $133.42 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The company has a market cap of $35.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.49 and a beta of 1.55.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The company’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.57 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 8.52 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NUE. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus raised shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.57.

Nucor 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.