Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Invests $46.73 Million in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 310,837 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,731,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NUE. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE stock opened at $154.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $36.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59. Nucor Co. has a 52 week low of $133.42 and a 52 week high of $203.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $150.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $153.68.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective 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 objective 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 cut their price target 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. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.57.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the company’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 owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the company’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 directly owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

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.