Hennessy Advisors Inc. Trims Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 5.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 14,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,727,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Widmann Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Nucor by 4.0% in the third quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in Nucor by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in shares of Nucor by 45.6% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP raised its position in shares of Nucor by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 5,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $789,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Stock Performance

NUE opened at $124.40 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The stock has a market cap of $29.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.60. The business’s 50 day moving average is $133.52 and its 200-day moving average is $144.48. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.57 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 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 yield of 1.77%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NUE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased 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 shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reissued 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. 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 note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at $13,923,837.96. This represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.