Cozad Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 667 shares during the quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $3,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of Nucor by 716.7% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 2,410.0% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE traded down $5.24 on Tuesday, hitting $170.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 573,498 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,426,955. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $129.79 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The company has a market capitalization of $40.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 1.61. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $190.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 4.02.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 12.40%. The business had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 12.5 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.71%.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total transaction of $1,025,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,902,206.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total value of $1,025,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,902,206.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $3,772,655.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 120,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,151 shares of company stock valued at $7,308,683 over the last 90 days. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on NUE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Nucor in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Citigroup raised Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.14.

About Nucor

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.