Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Stock Holdings Decreased by Old Port Advisors

Old Port Advisors decreased its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 114 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors’ holdings in Nucor were worth $373,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in Nucor during the third quarter worth $30,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Nucor by 769.2% in the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of Nucor 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,499,436. This trade represents a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NUE traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $116.51. 257,082 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,628,358. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $140.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.48. The company has a market cap of $27.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.55. 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 Co. has a 52 week low of $113.94 and a 52 week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.57 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.75.

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.