Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Decreases Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,728 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 101 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Nucor by 129.0% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 45.6% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 769.2% in the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on NUE. Argus upgraded shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut 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 note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,499,436. The trade was a 8.35 % 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. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Trading Down 3.8 %

NYSE NUE opened at $146.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59. The firm has a market cap of $34.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.14 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor Co. has a one year low of $133.42 and a one year high of $203.00. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $148.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.22.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.57 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s payout ratio is 20.87%.

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.