Banco Santander S.A. Increases Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Banco Santander S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 329.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 68,399 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 52,483 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in Nucor were worth $10,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. National Pension Service lifted its position in Nucor by 3.2% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 652,502 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $98,097,000 after purchasing an additional 20,258 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional lifted its position in Nucor by 52.8% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 17,245 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,726,000 after purchasing an additional 5,960 shares in the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the third quarter valued at $681,000. Ascension Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the second quarter valued at about $885,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the second quarter valued at about $6,655,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE NUE traded up $1.91 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $151.90. 1,276,262 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,553,561. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $149.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Nucor Co. has a 52 week low of $133.42 and a 52 week high of $203.00. The stock has a market cap of $35.67 billion, a PE ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 1.55.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.57 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Nucor's payout ratio is currently 20.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on NUE shares. Argus upgraded Nucor to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Three equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $190.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. This represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total value of $1,860,210.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 over the last ninety days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by 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.