Foster & Motley Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Foster & Motley Inc. cut its stake in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 340 shares during the period. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,992,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Nucor by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 5,908 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $765,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Nucor by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,856,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $244,059,000 after purchasing an additional 177,420 shares during the period. Praxis Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Nucor by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,410 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $830,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Nucor by 14.3% during the 2nd quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 68,834 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,917,000 after purchasing an additional 8,624 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its position in Nucor by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 15,264 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,977,000 after purchasing an additional 1,086 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on NUE shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $182.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.60.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.90, for a total value of $1,449,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 84,080 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,183,192. This represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,051,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 92,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,458,134. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,309 shares of company stock worth $4,553,771. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE:NUE opened at $131.70 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $140.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.76. The stock has a market cap of $30.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.77, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.75. Nucor Corporation has a 1-year low of $97.59 and a 1-year high of $170.52.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.47 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 4.21% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 39.71%.

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.