Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV Acquires 1,708 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,708 shares during the quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Nucor were worth $3,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Nucor by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,724,117,000 after buying an additional 326,181 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 652,502 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $98,097,000 after acquiring an additional 20,258 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth $565,000. BIP Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the third quarter worth $681,000. Finally, Ascension Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Nucor in the second quarter valued at $885,000. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $118.09 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 1.60. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.94. 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.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.57 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given 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 dividend yield of 1.86%. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NUE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.63.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at $14,499,436. The trade was a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total transaction of $1,860,210.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.