Swedbank AB Boosts Stock Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Swedbank AB boosted its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 209,925 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 25,744 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.09% of Nucor worth $31,560,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NUE. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Nucor Trading Up 0.4 %

NUE stock traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $154.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,695,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,559,153. The stock has a market cap of $36.16 billion, a PE ratio of 14.83 and a beta of 1.55. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $149.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.81. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $133.42 and a 52 week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.57 earnings per share. Nucor's quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 8.52 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is 20.87%.

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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,499,436. The trade was a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

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.