Natixis Advisors L.P. Has $16.90 Million Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 97,103 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 8,270 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.'s holdings in Nucor were worth $16,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at $108,747,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,070,960 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $360,430,000 after purchasing an additional 237,752 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,262,832 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $353,794,000 after purchasing an additional 159,230 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,175,571 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $652,851,000 after purchasing an additional 149,589 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 23.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 680,506 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $106,395,000 after purchasing an additional 128,536 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE NUE traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $171.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,399,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,439,980. The company has a current ratio of 4.02, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.62. The stock has a market cap of $41.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 1.65. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $129.79 and a 52-week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.62 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.26 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor's payout ratio is currently 12.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total value of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at $15,386,751.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $3,772,655.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 120,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,651 shares of company stock valued at $6,283,648. Insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NUE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Nucor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. UBS Group started coverage on Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised Nucor from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $193.14.

Nucor Company 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.