Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Lowers Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,728 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 101 shares during the quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,909,388 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $617,915,000 after acquiring an additional 84,558 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Nucor by 29.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,884,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $456,030,000 after purchasing an additional 660,866 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of Nucor by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,160,803 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $341,580,000 after purchasing an additional 67,974 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,069,920 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $169,433,000 after purchasing an additional 111,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,055,632 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $166,874,000 after purchasing an additional 28,384 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $146.38 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.22. The company has a market capitalization of $34.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $133.42 and a 1 year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The business’s revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.57 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors 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 1.48%. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 20.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total transaction of $1,860,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,499,436. The trade was a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NUE shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Argus upgraded shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.