Cypress Capital Management LLC WY Decreases Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Cypress Capital Management LLC WY lowered its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 760 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY’s holdings in Nucor were worth $767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Nucor by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 9,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in Nucor by 2,029.0% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,469 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the second quarter valued at $7,248,000. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,385 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,561,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 48,348 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,269,000 after purchasing an additional 2,659 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE stock opened at $128.69 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.30 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.72.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm earned $3.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 directly owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,452,524 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group reiterated 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. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target 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. Four 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.63.

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.