R Squared Ltd Invests $84,000 in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 720 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in Nucor during the third quarter worth about $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 grew its position in shares of Nucor by 45.6% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE opened at $128.69 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $112.25 and a 1 year high of $203.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.22 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.26%.

Insider Activity

In other Nucor news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,452,524 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NUE. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. 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 lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.63.

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.