Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Cuts Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC reduced its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 16.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,764 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 548 shares during the quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Nucor in the fourth quarter worth about $377,631,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 1st quarter worth approximately $90,216,000. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,395,000. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in Nucor by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 804,150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $159,141,000 after purchasing an additional 153,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trinity Street Asset Management LLP purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $19,213,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NUE opened at $148.04 on Thursday. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $139.41 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The company has a market capitalization of $35.49 billion, a PE ratio of 8.71 and a beta of 1.57. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $8.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.69 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 10.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.81 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 10.57 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on NUE. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America reduced their target price on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Argus raised Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Nucor from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $187.00 to $176.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $194.43.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In related news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $1,379,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,847,840. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.