Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Buys 1,000 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 80,535 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $9,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on NUE shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE:NUE opened at $130.18 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $112.25 and a 1 year high of $203.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $126.70 and a 200-day moving average of $141.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.16%.

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.