World Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 13,466 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $2,024,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of NUE. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Nucor by 129.0% during the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in Nucor in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Nucor by 769.2% in the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In related news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total value of $1,860,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,136 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,109,918.96. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,923,837.96. This represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 in the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor Trading Down 4.7 %

Shares of Nucor stock traded down $6.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $125.25. 2,790,702 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,576,326. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 1.55. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $125.00 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $149.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $151.40.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.57 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is an increase from Nucor's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor's payout ratio is 21.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NUE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Argus raised Nucor to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $183.75.

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.