Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 464 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,798,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Widmann Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 45.6% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $822,000 after buying an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in Nucor by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 5,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $789,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in Nucor by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NUE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Nucor from $168.00 to $152.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.63.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,499,436. This represents a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nucor Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NUE stock opened at $124.95 on Wednesday. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $112.25 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $132.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. 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 previous year, the firm posted $4.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 8.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s payout ratio is 21.26%.

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.