Columbus Macro LLC Increases Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Columbus Macro LLC grew its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 246.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,031 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,648 shares during the quarter. Columbus Macro LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $3,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter worth $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Nucor during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total transaction of $1,860,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,109,918.96. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at $13,923,837.96. This represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,452,524. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on NUE. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup decreased their price objective 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. cut their price target on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.13.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE NUE opened at $131.57 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 1.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $128.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.05. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $112.25 and a 1 year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results 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 quarter last year, the business posted $3.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.16%.

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.