Planned Solutions Inc. Makes New Investment in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,761 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 150.6% in the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 7,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 4,326 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Nucor by 106.2% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 35,889 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,328,000 after acquiring an additional 18,488 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nucor during the first quarter worth about $284,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the first quarter valued at approximately $222,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NUE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Nucor from $151.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. StockNews.com lowered Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $186.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $3,772,655.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 120,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total transaction of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,386,751.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $3,772,655.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683 in the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Nucor Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE:NUE opened at $198.56 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 3.57 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $184.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.75. Nucor Co. has a one year low of $129.79 and a one year high of $198.63.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.64 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 14.03 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.01%.

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.