FORA Capital LLC Invests $2.36 Million in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 15,696 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,360,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 4.1% during the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,630 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Nucor by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Nucor by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $822,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:NUE opened at $154.77 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $133.42 and a 1-year high of $203.00. 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 (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NUE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus upgraded Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.57.

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.