UMB Bank n.a. Cuts Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

UMB Bank n.a. cut its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 19.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 26,297 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 6,324 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $3,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter worth $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 60.3% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $124.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $29.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $133.52 and its 200 day moving average is $144.40. Nucor Co. has a one year low of $112.25 and a one year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.57 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 8.19 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 21.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total value of $1,860,210.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the 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 directly owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 over the last three months. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NUE. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $168.00 to $152.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.63.

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.