Blue Trust Inc. Raises Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 20.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 45.6% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 60.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE:NUE opened at $128.39 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.62. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.55 dividend. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on NUE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.63.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. This represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 $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 20,680 shares of company stock worth $3,452,524 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.