WBI Investments LLC Takes $1.23 Million Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

WBI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,065 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,230,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 716.7% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2,410.0% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Nucor stock traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $171.94. 325,725 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,396,748. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 4.02. The company has a market cap of $41.22 billion, a PE ratio of 10.05 and a beta of 1.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $185.22 and a 200-day moving average of $177.57. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $129.79 and a 12 month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.62%. Nucor’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 12.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at $23,351,936.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,651 shares of company stock worth $6,283,648. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on NUE shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup raised Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com lowered Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.75.

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.