Here’s Why ClearBridge Investments Sold its Nucor (NUE) Shares

ClearBridge Investments, an investment management firm, published its “Multi-Cap Growth Strategy” third quarter 2021 investor letter – a copy of which can be downloaded here. The ClearBridge Multi Cap Growth Strategy underperformed its Russell 3000 Growth Index benchmark in the third quarter. On an absolute basis, the Strategy generated losses across the six sectors in which it was invested (out of 11 sectors total). You can take a look at the fund’s top 5 holdings to have an idea about their best picks for 2021.

ClearBridge Multi Cap Growth Strategy, in its Q3 2021 investor letter, mentioned Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) and discussed its stance on the firm. Nucor Corporation is a Charlotte, North Carolina-based steel production company with a $33.3 billion market capitalization. NUE delivered a 2.15% return since the beginning of the year, while its 12-month returns are up by 108.14%. The stock closed at $116.60 per share on January 06, 2022.

Here is what ClearBridge Multi Cap Growth Strategy has to say about Nucor Corporation  in its Q3 2021 investor letter:

“Our active approach also applies to being disciplined in managing positions in companies in more cyclical industries and taking profits during stronger periods of each cycle. We closed a position in steel maker Nucor during the quarter after the shares had more than doubled over the last year as a direct participant in the recovery of the U.S. economy and rebound in industrial activity. At this point in the cycle, we no longer view the risk/reward as compelling and feel more confident in deploying the proceeds in more attractive areas discussed in this and previous letters.”

Photo by the blowup on Unsplash

Based on our calculations, Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) was not able to clinch a spot in our list of the 30 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. NUE was in 4 hedge fund portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2021, compared to 3 funds in the previous quarter. Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) delivered a 19.02% return in the past 3 months.

In April 2021, we also shared another hedge fund’s views on NUE in another article. You can find more than 100 investor letters from hedge funds and prominent investors on our hedge fund investor letters 2021 Q3 page.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.