Sanctuary Advisors LLC Sells 6,605 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 16.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,715 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 6,605 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $5,274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $125.25 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $149.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $151.29. The company has a market cap of $29.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $125.00 and a 12-month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its 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. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.57 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NUE shares. 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 upgraded shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday. Four investment 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, Nucor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.75.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at $14,499,436. The trade was a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $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 sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.