Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC cut its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 13.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,129 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,985,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 60.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE NUE opened at $133.79 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $30.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $128.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.15.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s payout ratio is 26.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NUE. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $154.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.75.

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.