LRI Investments LLC Increases Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

LRI Investments LLC grew its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 4,368.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,781 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 33,025 shares during the quarter. Nucor accounts for 0.4% of LRI Investments LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. LRI Investments LLC's holdings in Nucor were worth $4,945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NUE. 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Nucor by 769.2% during the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NUE has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Argus raised Nucor to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $190.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,499,436. This trade represents a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 in the last three months. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NUE traded up $2.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $144.58. 1,546,956 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,562,447. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $133.42 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The stock has a market cap of $33.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.77 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $150.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $152.48. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $4.57 earnings per share. Nucor's revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Nucor's payout ratio is 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.