Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Buys New Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,455 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $162,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Nucor by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $449,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 49.9% during the 4th quarter. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC now owns 2,705 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. grew its position in shares of Nucor by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 7,721 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $949,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,542 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 12,976 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,514,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, 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 transaction of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,680 shares of company stock worth $3,452,524 in the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on NUE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Four 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.63.

Nucor Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $126.88 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $29.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.83. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $112.25 and a 1 year 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.16 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.