Uncommon Cents Investing LLC Sells 305 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Uncommon Cents Investing LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,445 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 305 shares during the quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Nucor by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,724,117,000 after purchasing an additional 326,181 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its position in Nucor by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 652,502 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $98,097,000 after purchasing an additional 20,258 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $565,000. BIP Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth about $681,000. Finally, Ascension Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor in the second quarter worth about $885,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,499,436. The trade was a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total value of $1,860,210.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Nucor from $168.00 to $152.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.63.

Nucor Price Performance

NYSE NUE opened at $124.40 on Monday. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $112.25 and a 12 month high of $203.00. 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’s 50 day moving average is $133.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.40.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.57 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders 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 is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.26%.

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.