Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 77,699 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 6,720 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $9,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Widmann Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Nucor by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in Nucor by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $822,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP increased its stake in Nucor by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 5,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $789,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in Nucor by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NUE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Nucor from $168.00 to $152.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.63.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $122.10 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a one year low of $112.25 and a one year high of $203.00. The stock has a market cap of $28.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 1.60. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $131.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $143.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.26%.

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.