Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Cuts Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC reduced its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 128,538 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 38,793 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned 0.05% of Nucor worth $19,324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NUE. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 129.0% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Nucor by 94.2% in the 1st quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 45.6% in the third 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NUE shares. 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 note on Wednesday, September 18th. Argus raised shares of Nucor to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $190.57.

Nucor Trading Up 16.0 %

NUE stock traded up $23.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $167.74. 7,477,538 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,533,003. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21 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 quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion during 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $4.57 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 8.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,499,436. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Nucor

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.