Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Acquired by Liberty One Investment Management LLC

Liberty One Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 14.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,696 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in Nucor by 45.6% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Nucor by 60.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $168.00 to $152.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Four equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.63.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $124.40 on Monday. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.57 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 8.19 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at $29,109,918.96. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,499,436. The trade was a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.