Busey Bank Buys 499 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Busey Bank lifted its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 77,937 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. Busey Bank’s holdings in Nucor were worth $11,717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 94.2% in the first quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in Nucor in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in Nucor in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Nucor by 129.0% during the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

NYSE:NUE opened at $141.34 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $133.42 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $147.81 and a 200 day moving average of $159.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 2.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 1.55.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.57 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business 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 is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.87%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $1,379,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,847,840. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NUE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Argus raised Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on 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 target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.