Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $39.47 Million Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 226,807 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,952 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned 0.09% of Nucor worth $39,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in Nucor by 3.4% during the third quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 19,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,009,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at $3,481,000. AIA Group Ltd grew its position in Nucor by 53.2% in the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 13,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,302,000 after acquiring an additional 4,592 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth $1,230,000. Finally, abrdn plc lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 154,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,932,000 after acquiring an additional 45,521 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,386,751.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total value of $1,901,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,386,751.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $23,351,936.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,651 shares of company stock valued at $6,283,648. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NUE has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.14.

Nucor Stock Performance

NUE stock opened at $173.92 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $189.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.21. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $129.79 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 4.02 and a quick ratio of 2.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.74 billion, a PE ratio of 10.23 and a beta of 1.65.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The firm had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.45 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Nucor’s payout ratio is presently 12.71%.

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.