Clarius Group LLC Trims Stock Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Clarius Group LLC cut its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,022 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 233 shares during the quarter. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the first quarter valued at about $48,000. Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Nucor by 150.6% during 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 last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Nucor by 106.2% during 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 last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the first quarter valued at about $284,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the first quarter valued at about $222,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total transaction of $1,025,035.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,902,206.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NUE has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $186.67.

Nucor Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE NUE opened at $194.53 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 3.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Nucor Co. has a 52 week low of $129.79 and a 52 week high of $203.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.68 billion, a PE ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 1.61. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $190.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $172.55.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.33. Nucor had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The company had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.01%.

About Nucor

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.