Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) Shares Purchased by Lakeside Advisors INC.

Lakeside Advisors INC. increased its position in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 22.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,237 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 9,059 shares during the quarter. Nucor comprises about 3.9% of Lakeside Advisors INC.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Lakeside Advisors INC.'s holdings in Nucor were worth $5,925,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth about $15,452,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth about $38,714,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Nucor by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,766 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Nucor by 19.0% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 61,549 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $7,183,000 after purchasing an additional 9,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance grew its position in Nucor by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 15,576 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,818,000 after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Nucor Stock Up 0.2%

NUE stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $140.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,458,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,240,111. Nucor Corporation has a 1 year low of $97.59 and a 1 year high of $170.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.52, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $32.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.91, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a 50 day moving average of $121.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.81.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.15). Nucor had a return on equity of 6.82% and a net margin of 4.40%. The company had revenue of $7.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Nucor's payout ratio is 39.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NUE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Nucor from $156.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $150.00.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,088 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.87, for a total transaction of $906,342.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 99,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,707,592.73. This trade represents a 6.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total transaction of $4,115,065.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 162,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,590,128.67. This represents a 17.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 51,326 shares of company stock valued at $6,325,108. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

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.