Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Acquired by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,283,111 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 262,493 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.54% of Nucor worth $192,902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its stake in Nucor by 4.1% during the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,630 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Nucor by 2.1% in the second quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $546,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in Nucor by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other 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 transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,499,436. This represents a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,636,254.72. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NUE shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report 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 target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 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 given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.57.

Nucor Trading Up 0.5 %

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

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

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s payout ratio is 20.87%.

About Nucor

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.