First Financial Bank Trust Division Trims Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

First Financial Bank Trust Division decreased its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,621 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 266 shares during the period. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Nucor were worth $656,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 3.1% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $621,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in Nucor by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 19,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,868,000 after acquiring an additional 833 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Nucor by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 36,493 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,197 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,004,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,024,000. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NUE shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on 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 reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.75.

Nucor Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of Nucor stock traded down $2.23 during trading on Thursday, reaching $114.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,380,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,628,358. The company has a market cap of $26.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 1.55. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $140.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.48. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $113.94 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 period last year, the firm earned $4.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 21.26%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,499,436. This represents a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

About Nucor

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.