Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 152.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 86,357 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 52,156 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $12,983,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Nucor by 769.2% during the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in 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 period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at $29,109,918.96. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. 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 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on NUE. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Argus upgraded shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced 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 given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.57.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE:NUE opened at $148.78 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market capitalization of $34.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $148.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.22. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $133.42 and a twelve month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.57 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.