Empowered Funds LLC Grows Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 152.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 86,357 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,156 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $12,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 129.0% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Nucor during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 45.6% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 769.2% in the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

Nucor stock opened at $148.78 on Friday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $148.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.22. The company has a market capitalization of $34.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $133.42 and a 12-month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NUE. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley cut 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 raised shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Three investment 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.57.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. This represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 dated 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.