Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its holdings in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 464 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $124.95 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $132.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.34 billion, a PE ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 1.60. 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 Co. has a 12-month low of $112.25 and a 12-month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.57 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 8.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NUE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $168.00 to $152.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.63.

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.