ProShare Advisors LLC Has $159.90 Million Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,370,077 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 186,663 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.58% of Nucor worth $159,902,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,913 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,942,000 after acquiring an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Nucor by 339.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,157 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $719,000 after purchasing an additional 4,755 shares during the period. Eastern Bank boosted its holdings in Nucor by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 2,283 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in Nucor by 47.2% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 758 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $163,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NUE shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Argus set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group raised shares of Nucor from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $160.33.

Nucor Price Performance

NYSE:NUE traded down $0.97 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $114.86. 416,637 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,672,599. The company has a market capitalization of $26.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Nucor Co. has a one year low of $97.59 and a one year high of $173.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $117.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.20.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.15). Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. The company had revenue of $7.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.46 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total value of $4,115,065.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 162,993 shares in the company, valued at $19,590,128.67. This represents a 17.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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.