Yousif Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Yousif Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,070 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,467 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $9,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in Nucor during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE stock opened at $133.33 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $127.56 and a 200-day moving average of $141.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $112.25 and a 12 month high of $203.00.

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 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 company posted $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on NUE. StockNews.com downgraded Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.13.

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.