37,697 Shares in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Bought by InvesTrust

InvesTrust acquired a new stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 37,697 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,388,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 60.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Trading Down 2.5 %

NYSE NUE traded down $3.06 on Wednesday, reaching $118.22. 877,335 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,005,493. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $138.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.25 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.57 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.26%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,499,436. The trade was a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on NUE shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.63.

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.