Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Sells 3,276 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC trimmed its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 12.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,064 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,276 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,575,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings in Nucor by 8,530.1% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,595,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $239,819,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576,695 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 29.7% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,884,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $456,030,000 after acquiring an additional 660,866 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $74,829,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Nucor by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $205,282,000 after acquiring an additional 358,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Nucor by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,724,117,000 after acquiring an additional 326,181 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on NUE shares. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $168.00 to $152.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.63.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $124.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $29.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $133.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.57. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $112.25 and a 1 year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.57 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 8.19 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In related news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % 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 the company’s 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 owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 in the last 90 days. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.