Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Takes $74.83 Million Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 495,963 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $74,829,000. Nucor comprises about 1.5% of Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lakeside Advisors INC. boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Lakeside Advisors INC. now owns 40,371 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,069,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,009 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 2,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 433 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in Nucor by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 9,356 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,407,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,499,436. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

NUE stock opened at $143.56 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $34.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.87 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $133.42 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $157.04.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.57 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 8.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on NUE shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.57.

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.