FORA Capital LLC Buys Shares of 15,696 Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 15,696 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,360,000.

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

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE:NUE opened at $154.77 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $150.35 and its 200-day moving average is $153.68. The company has a market cap of $36.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $133.42 and a 52-week high of $203.00.

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

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,499,436. The trade was a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on NUE. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock 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, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.57.

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.