Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $2.49 Million Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Kentucky Retirement Systems trimmed its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,534 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,534 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Nucor were worth $2,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in Nucor by 45.6% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at $14,499,436. This represents a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 over the last quarter. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Nucor Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE NUE opened at $147.08 on Monday. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $133.42 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59. The stock has a market cap of $34.54 billion, a PE ratio of 14.21 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $154.87.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The company 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%. Nucor’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.57 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.52 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

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

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.