Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by Certuity LLC

Certuity LLC lowered its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 239 shares during the period. Certuity LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Nucor in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Nucor in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in Nucor in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.13.

Nucor Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $135.61 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $140.66. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The company has a market capitalization of $31.84 billion, a PE ratio of 16.13 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.55 dividend. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 26.16%.

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.