Freedom Investment Management Inc. Has $798,000 Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 17.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,306 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,157 shares during the quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 45.6% in the third 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Finally, Argus raised shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.57.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE stock opened at $154.77 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $153.69. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $36.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $133.42 and a 12 month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.57 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,499,436. This represents a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. 0.64% 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.