Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Stake Reduced by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 18.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 6,054 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,346 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. raised its position in Nucor by 80.5% in the first quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 2,296 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $454,000 after acquiring an additional 1,024 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor during the 1st quarter worth about $1,847,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Nucor by 131.0% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 136,595 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,032,000 after buying an additional 77,459 shares during the period. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,805 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,315,000 after buying an additional 3,673 shares during the period. Finally, SpiderRock Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor during the 1st quarter worth about $6,170,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Stock Performance

Nucor stock traded down $2.58 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $153.84. 1,348,210 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,627,285. The firm has a market cap of $36.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.05 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 4.02, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $164.26 and a 200 day moving average of $177.22. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $140.07 and a 12 month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.45 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 10.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on NUE. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, May 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 17th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Citigroup upgraded 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 downgraded Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nucor currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.50.

Nucor 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.