495,963 Shares in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Purchased by Ceredex Value Advisors LLC

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 495,963 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,829,000. Nucor makes up 1.5% of Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.21% of Nucor at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its position in Nucor by 94.2% in the 1st quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in Nucor in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at $14,499,436. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $143.56 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $147.56 and a 200 day moving average of $157.04. The company has a market cap of $34.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $133.42 and a 12-month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The firm’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.57 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 8.65 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. Nucor’s payout ratio is 20.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on NUE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus raised shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.57.

Nucor 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.