Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC Raises Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,210 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $258,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 45.6% in 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. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nucor during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $126.88 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $129.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.83. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $112.25 and a 12-month high of $203.00. 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 company has a market capitalization of $29.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 8.18 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 21.26%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other Nucor news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,680 shares of company stock worth $3,452,524 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on NUE shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.63.

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.