Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Acquired by Polianta Ltd

Polianta Ltd boosted its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 33.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,300 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the quarter. Polianta Ltd's holdings in Nucor were worth $1,202,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Nucor Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NUE traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $124.40. The company had a trading volume of 1,842,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,239,521. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.25 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.40. The stock has a market cap of $29.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.60. 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 (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.57 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 8.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nucor news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 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 trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NUE. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. 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 research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $168.00 to $152.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $163.63.

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.