Cynosure Group LLC Increases Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Cynosure Group LLC raised its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 7.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,573 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. National Pension Service grew its position in Nucor by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 652,502 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $98,097,000 after purchasing an additional 20,258 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 52.8% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 17,245 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,726,000 after buying an additional 5,960 shares during the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at approximately $681,000. Ascension Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $885,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,655,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 approximately $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724. 0.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $154.77 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $36.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $150.35 and a 200 day moving average of $153.68.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. Nucor’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.57 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 20.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on NUE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has a consensus 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.