Benjamin Edwards Inc. Acquires 4,292 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 2,073.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,499 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 4,292 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Nucor were worth $676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 129.0% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in Nucor during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,499,436. This trade represents a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NUE shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus raised Nucor to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $190.50.

Nucor Trading Down 2.1 %

Nucor stock traded down $3.00 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $142.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,838,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,777,207. The firm has a market cap of $33.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.77 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $133.42 and a 12-month 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $150.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.48.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.57 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were issued 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 1.52%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.87%.

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.