32,360 Shares in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Acquired by Ardevora Asset Management LLP

Ardevora Asset Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 32,360 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $5,632,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Nucor by 15,470.4% during the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,204 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 4,177 shares during the last quarter. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Nucor by 716.7% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC lifted its position in Nucor by 36.6% during the fourth quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 220 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NUE traded up $0.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $191.36. The company had a trading volume of 1,622,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 908,045. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.81. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $129.79 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 3.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.33. Nucor had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The business had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.89 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.01%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $3,772,655.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $3,772,655.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,151 shares of company stock valued at $7,308,683. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com raised shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Nucor from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $192.83.

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.