Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC Buys New Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 33,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,872,000. Nucor makes up about 1.4% of Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Eastern Bank increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 2,283 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Nucor by 339.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 4,755 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,942,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 61,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,170,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 33,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,891,000 after buying an additional 1,708 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on NUE shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at $13,636,254.72. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

NUE opened at $122.91 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $28.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 1.60. The business’s fifty day moving average is $136.31 and its 200-day moving average is $145.35. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $112.25 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results 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. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.57 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 8.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 21.26%.

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.