National Bank of Canada FI Boosts Stock Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 315.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 296,851 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 225,450 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned 0.13% of Nucor worth $44,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,630 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Nucor by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Nucor by 2.1% in the second quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,457 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Nucor by 3.3% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $1,860,210.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 in the last three months. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Nucor Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE NUE traded up $2.05 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $144.62. 1,551,515 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,563,898. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $133.42 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.57 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.