Financial Partners Group LLC Has $1.79 Million Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Financial Partners Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,322 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,767 shares during the quarter. Financial Partners Group LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,788,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 9,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,533,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Nucor by 91.4% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 55,770 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,816,000 after purchasing an additional 26,638 shares during the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 31.1% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 15,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,454,000 after purchasing an additional 3,680 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 64.7% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,439,000 after purchasing an additional 3,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Nucor by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 4,498 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $713,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $122.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.67 billion, a price-to-earnings 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. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.25 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.57 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 8.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s payout ratio is 21.26%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,499,436. The trade was a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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. Insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 in the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup dropped their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.63.

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.