Retirement Systems of Alabama Trims Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its holdings in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,353 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Nucor were worth $7,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NUE. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Nucor by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,724,117,000 after buying an additional 326,181 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,861,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $883,732,000 after acquiring an additional 74,569 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,909,388 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $617,915,000 after purchasing an additional 84,558 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Nucor by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,456,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $519,648,000 after purchasing an additional 571,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Nucor by 3.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,160,803 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $341,580,000 after purchasing an additional 67,974 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $120.96 on Wednesday. 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 fifty-two week low of $119.44 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The stock has a market cap of $28.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $148.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $150.65.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.57 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.87%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,499,436. This trade represents a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NUE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Argus upgraded Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.