Freedom Investment Management Inc. Sells 1,157 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 17.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,306 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,157 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cynosure Group LLC increased its stake in Nucor by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 2,573 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $387,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Nucor by 5.8% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP raised its stake in Nucor by 46.3% in the third quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP now owns 15,841 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,382,000 after purchasing an additional 5,012 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Nucor by 29.1% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp grew its stake in Nucor by 0.4% during the third quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 56,805 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,540,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE stock opened at $154.77 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.69. The stock has a market cap of $36.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $133.42 and a 1 year high of $203.00. 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 (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.57 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 20.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 in the last ninety days. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NUE has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.57.

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.