Bill Few Associates Inc. Decreases Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Bill Few Associates Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 241 shares during the quarter. Bill Few Associates Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in Nucor in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nucor during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of NUE opened at $121.95 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59. Nucor Co. has a one year low of $112.25 and a one year high of $203.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $131.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.82. The company has a market capitalization of $28.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion during 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 revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.57 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.13 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 21.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on NUE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup dropped their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total transaction of $1,860,210.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of Nucor 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 $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.