Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,612,216 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,467 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.69% of Nucor worth $242,381,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $151.92 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $133.42 and a 1 year high of $203.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $149.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.07. The company has a market capitalization of $35.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 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 business had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.57 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 8.52 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 20.87%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NUE shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus raised shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Three equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. This represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.