Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $192.90 Million Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,283,111 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 262,493 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Nucor were worth $192,902,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NUE. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Nucor by 129.0% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in Nucor during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in Nucor by 45.6% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $147.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21 and a beta of 1.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $148.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.87. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $133.42 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 20.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,499,436. The trade was a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.46% 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.