BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Boosts Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 9.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,512 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 4,569 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.'s holdings in Nucor were worth $8,346,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Nucor in the third quarter worth $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NUE. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Argus raised shares of Nucor to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $190.57.

Insider Activity

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the business'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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at $14,499,436. The trade was a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 over the last 90 days. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE:NUE traded up $1.52 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $153.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,691,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,558,553. 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 fifty-two week low of $133.42 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The firm's 50 day moving average is $149.88 and its 200-day moving average is $153.81. The firm has a market cap of $36.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.83 and a beta of 1.55.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.57 EPS. The company's revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate 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 given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.87%.

Nucor Company 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.