Certuity LLC Decreases Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Certuity LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 239 shares during the period. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $135.61 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $112.25 and a 1-year high of $203.00. The stock has a market cap of $31.84 billion, a PE ratio of 16.13 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 dividend yield of 1.62%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NUE. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.13.

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.