Provence Wealth Management Group Reduces Stock Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Provence Wealth Management Group lowered its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,209 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 142 shares during the quarter. Provence Wealth Management Group’s holdings in Nucor were worth $210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 716.7% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2,410.0% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE traded up $3.40 on Friday, reaching $173.92. The stock had a trading volume of 1,054,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,443,490. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $189.47 and a 200 day moving average of $174.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.74 billion, a PE ratio of 10.23 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a quick ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 4.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $129.79 and a twelve month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 12.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 12.55 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 given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.71%.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the 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 sale, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total transaction of $3,772,655.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 120,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 $15,386,751.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,651 shares of company stock worth $6,283,648. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on NUE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $193.14.

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.