Avior Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Avior Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 57 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NUE. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in Nucor in the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Nucor by 150.6% in the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 7,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after purchasing an additional 4,326 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Nucor by 106.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 35,889 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,328,000 after purchasing an additional 18,488 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the 1st quarter valued at about $284,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the 1st quarter valued at about $222,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NUE stock opened at $191.36 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $45.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 1.61. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $129.79 and a 1-year high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 3.57 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $191.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.57.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.64 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The company’s revenue was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.89 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nucor news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,817,153.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Nucor news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,817,153.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total transaction of $3,772,655.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,151 shares of company stock valued at $7,308,683. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on NUE. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.83.

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.