Cove Private Wealth LLC Sells 150 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Cove Private Wealth LLC lowered its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,725 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 150 shares during the quarter. Cove Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently 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 valued at about $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Nucor by 60.3% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,499,436. This represents a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 in the last ninety days. 0.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Nucor Trading Up 0.8 %

NUE stock opened at $124.40 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $29.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $133.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $144.40. Nucor Co. has a one year low of $112.25 and a one year high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.57 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 8.19 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NUE. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.63.

Nucor Company 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.