Eastern Bank Increases Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Eastern Bank boosted its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 13.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,283 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in Nucor were worth $266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 339.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $719,000 after acquiring an additional 4,755 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,942,000 after acquiring an additional 2,565 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 61,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,170,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 33,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,891,000 after acquiring an additional 1,708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 110.0% during the 4th quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 204,864 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $23,910,000 after acquiring an additional 107,296 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NUE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.63.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $121.73 on Wednesday. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $112.25 and a 1-year high of $203.00. The company has a market capitalization of $28.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 1.60. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $135.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.10.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.57 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 8.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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. Insiders have sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 over the last ninety days. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.