AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Grows Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 747,539 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,212 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned 0.31% of Nucor worth $112,385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 94.2% in the first quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 owns 98,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,499,436. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Nucor Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:NUE traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $141.80. 2,299,317 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,509,048. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $33.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $133.42 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.50.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for 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%. Nucor's revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.57 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 8.65 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.87%.

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.