Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Purchases 910 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,529 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Nucor were worth $3,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth approximately $377,631,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Nucor during the 4th quarter worth $108,747,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Nucor by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,070,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $360,430,000 after acquiring an additional 237,752 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Nucor by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,262,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $353,794,000 after acquiring an additional 159,230 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Nucor by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,175,571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $652,851,000 after acquiring an additional 149,589 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on NUE. StockNews.com lowered Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Nucor in a research note on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $192.75.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NUE traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $171.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,056,141 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,242,710. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $129.79 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $184.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.07 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 4.02 and a quick ratio of 2.48.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The firm had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.45 EPS. Nucor’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 12.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the sale, the insider now owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 24,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total value of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,386,751.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,651 shares of company stock worth $6,283,648 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.