CGN Advisors LLC Trims Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

CGN Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 15.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,738 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 2,343 shares during the quarter. CGN Advisors LLC's holdings in Nucor were worth $1,487,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 326,181 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its holdings in Nucor by 3.2% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 652,502 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $98,097,000 after buying an additional 20,258 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at $565,000. BIP Wealth LLC bought a new position in Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at $681,000. Finally, Ascension Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the 2nd quarter worth $885,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

Nucor stock traded up $1.04 during trading on Friday, hitting $124.40. The stock had a trading volume of 1,842,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,239,521. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock's 50 day moving average is $133.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.48. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $112.25 and a 1 year high of $203.00. The stock has a market cap of $29.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 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 firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.57 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 8.19 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This is an increase from Nucor's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Nucor Company 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.