Savant Capital LLC Lowers Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Savant Capital LLC lessened its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,259 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 391 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during 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 valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NUE has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.13.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $137.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Nucor Co. has a 52 week low of $112.25 and a 52 week high of $203.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $124.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $140.62.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company posted $3.16 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders 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 positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.16%.

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.