Nucor Corporation $NUE Stock Sold by Inspire Investing LLC

Key Points

• Inspire Investing reduced its Nucor position by 68.2% in the third quarter, selling 31,237 shares and retaining 14,583 shares valued at approximately $3.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 76.48% of Nucor.
• Nucor reported quarterly EPS of $4.84, exceeding analysts’ $4.46 estimate, while revenue rose 23% year over year to $10.4 billion. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.56 per share, representing a 0.9% annualized yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.86, despite one downgrade. Shares recently opened at $258.23, below the consensus target.

Inspire Investing LLC lowered its position in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 68.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,583 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 31,237 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC's holdings in Nucor were worth $3,409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. GK Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the second quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Markowski Investments bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the second quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $258.23 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $252.58 and its 200 day moving average is $241.17. The stock has a market cap of $58.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.84. Nucor Corporation has a 1-year low of $138.34 and a 1-year high of $280.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $4.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.46 by $0.38. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 7.99%. The business had revenue of $10.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.60 earnings per share. Nucor's revenue for the quarter was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor Corporation will post 19.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is 17.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Stephen D. Laxton sold 3,968 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.96, for a total value of $1,019,617.28. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 77,867 shares in the company, valued at $20,008,704.32. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas J. Batterbee sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.02, for a total transaction of $1,044,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,212,340.76. This represents a 19.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NUE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Freedom Broker downgraded Nucor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Nucor from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Barclays boosted their target price on Nucor from $295.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $270.00 price target on Nucor in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Nucor from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $276.86.

Nucor Company Profile

Nucor Corporation is a steel producer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company manufactures steel and steel products for customers in construction, automotive, energy, heavy equipment, transportation and other industrial markets.

Nucor's operations include electric arc furnace steel mills, which produce carbon, alloy and galvanized steel products. Its product portfolio includes sheet steel, plate, beams, bars, wire and wire mesh, steel joists, deck, piling, fabricated concrete reinforcing steel and other downstream products.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.