Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by CNB Bank

CNB Bank cut its holdings in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,117 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 165 shares during the quarter. CNB Bank’s holdings in Nucor were worth $130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NUE. Mirador Capital Partners LP grew its position in Nucor by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 5,689 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 94.9% during the 4th quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 3,657 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,781 shares during the period. Covea Finance purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,836,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 7,088 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $827,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at $163,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NUE stock opened at $124.46 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.25 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 1.60. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $134.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.94. 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 results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share 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 net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.57 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nucor news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,109,918.96. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. This represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Nucor from $168.00 to $152.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. Four 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.63.

About Nucor

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.