Wedmont Private Capital Raises Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE – Get Rating) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,560 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 224 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Nucor were worth $368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in Nucor in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Nucor by 150.6% in the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 7,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 4,326 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in Nucor by 106.2% in the first 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 acquired a new position in Nucor in the first quarter valued at approximately $284,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Nucor in the first quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.33% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE NUE opened at $144.12 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $162.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.13. Nucor Co. has a one year low of $100.13 and a one year high of $187.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 2.13 and a current ratio of 3.39. The company has a market cap of $36.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.02 and a beta of 1.59.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 26th. The basic materials company reported $4.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.71. Nucor had a return on equity of 42.03% and a net margin of 18.33%. The firm had revenue of $8.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 15.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 14.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 31st will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 30th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NUE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on Nucor in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $172.00 price target for the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Nucor from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Nucor from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Nucor from $144.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 10th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Nucor in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $153.44.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.36, for a total value of $841,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,293,025.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Nucor news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.36, for a total value of $841,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 61,137 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,293,025.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.71, for a total value of $404,130.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,082,440.39. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,575 shares of company stock valued at $2,034,130. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Nucor Company Profile

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Nucor Corp. engages in the manufacturing of steel and steel products. It operates through the following segments: Steel Mills, Steel Products, and Raw Materials. The Steel Mills segment consists of carbon and alloy steel in sheet, bars, structural and plate, steel trading businesses, rebar distribution businesses, and Nucor’s equity method investments.