Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Decreases Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board decreased its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 50.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,474 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 12,585 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,875,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in Nucor by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 16,344 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,457,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,980,000. Counterweight Ventures LLC grew its holdings in Nucor by 19.6% during the third quarter. Counterweight Ventures LLC now owns 14,121 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,123,000 after acquiring an additional 2,312 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,481,000. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 12.6% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,069 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $612,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total transaction of $1,860,210.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at $29,109,918.96. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE:NUE opened at $144.68 on Wednesday. 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 50-day moving average price of $149.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.97 billion, a PE ratio of 13.98 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The firm 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 business’s revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.57 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NUE. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus raised Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.57.

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.