Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Boosts Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,436 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $5,478,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 152.5% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 86,357 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,983,000 after acquiring an additional 52,156 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its position in shares of Nucor by 1.0% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 11,824 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,778,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Nucor by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 35,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,289,000 after purchasing an additional 2,461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in Nucor by 267.4% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 118,542 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,822,000 after purchasing an additional 86,279 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,499,436. This represents a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of Nucor 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,109,918.96. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 over the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE:NUE opened at $147.08 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $148.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.96. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $133.42 and a 1-year high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.21 and a beta of 1.55.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.57 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.52 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 20.87%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. Argus upgraded shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.