First Hawaiian Bank Decreases Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

First Hawaiian Bank decreased its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 24.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,639 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 832 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Nucor were worth $308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 2.9% during 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 last quarter. National Pension Service grew its position in Nucor by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 652,502 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $98,097,000 after acquiring an additional 20,258 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $565,000. BIP Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at approximately $681,000. Finally, Ascension Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the second quarter valued at approximately $885,000. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE stock opened at $118.62 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $136.70 and its 200 day moving average is $145.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $27.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.57 EPS. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 8.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total value of $1,860,210.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 target for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.63.

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.