Kera Capital Partners Inc. Takes Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,341 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $390,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. State Street Corp increased its position in Nucor by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,724,117,000 after buying an additional 326,181 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Nucor by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,861,945 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $883,732,000 after purchasing an additional 74,569 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Nucor by 19.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,456,484 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $519,648,000 after purchasing an additional 571,682 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,160,803 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $341,580,000 after buying an additional 67,974 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Nucor by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $205,282,000 after buying an additional 358,721 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on NUE shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Nucor from $168.00 to $152.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Citigroup cut their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $163.63.

Nucor Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NUE stock traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $124.40. The stock had a trading volume of 1,842,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,239,521. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.60. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $133.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.40. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $112.25 and a 52-week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.57 EPS. Nucor's revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. This is a boost from Nucor's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor's payout ratio is 21.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total value of $1,860,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at $29,109,918.96. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. 0.46% of the stock is currently 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.