Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC reduced its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 26.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,685 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,139 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC's holdings in Nucor were worth $1,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Nucor by 2.9% during 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 in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised 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 purchasing an additional 20,258 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth about $565,000. BIP Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the third quarter worth about $681,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on NUE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup dropped their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $163.13.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE stock traded up $2.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $137.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,108,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,927,821. The business has a fifty day moving average of $124.99 and a 200-day moving average of $140.62. The stock has a market cap of $32.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 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 last year, the firm earned $3.16 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. This is a positive change from Nucor's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.16%.

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.