Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 69,621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,125,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Nucor by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 417 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

NYSE NUE opened at $111.50 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.00. The company has a market cap of $25.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.73. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $97.59 and a 1 year high of $173.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $7.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.25 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on NUE shares. Argus set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $156.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 price target on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total transaction of $4,115,065.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,993 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,590,128.67. This represents a 17.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.