Hancock Whitney Corp Boosts Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Hancock Whitney Corp raised its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 56,805 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Nucor were worth $8,540,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. SVB Wealth LLC raised its position in Nucor by 8.3% during the first quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 3,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $784,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 1st quarter worth approximately $851,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Nucor by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 6,682 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,322,000 after buying an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Nucor by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 37,539 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,430,000 after buying an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Nucor by 1,051.8% during the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,139 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after buying an additional 5,606 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $152.51 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $133.42 and a 1-year high of $203.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $149.67 and a 200-day moving average of $153.96. The company has a market capitalization of $35.81 billion, a PE ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 1.55.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NUE. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. 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 note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus raised shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three investment 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.57.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,923,837.96. This represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total value of $1,860,210.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at $29,109,918.96. This trade represents a 6.01 % 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 worth $4,773,724 in the last ninety days. 0.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.