Spire Wealth Management Boosts Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 31.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,827 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 1,647 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,139,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in Nucor by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 17,127 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,981,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of Nucor by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 62,489 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,962,000 after purchasing an additional 6,198 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC boosted its holdings in Nucor by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 4,387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $764,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the period. Finally, Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $1,243,000. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on NUE shares. StockNews.com lowered Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Citigroup raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Nucor in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.14.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total transaction of $3,772,655.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,651 shares of company stock worth $6,283,648. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NUE stock opened at $170.63 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $40.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 4.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $129.79 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $188.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $175.83.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 12.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

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

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.