Quent Capital LLC Lowers Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Quent Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 590 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 116 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $69,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NUE. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup dropped their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com raised Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.13.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE:NUE opened at $135.61 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $31.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.13 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $125.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $140.66. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

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.