Simmons Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Simmons Bank reduced its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,330 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,146,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NUE. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,175,571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $652,851,000 after acquiring an additional 149,589 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,262,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $353,794,000 after purchasing an additional 159,230 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Nucor by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,070,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $360,430,000 after purchasing an additional 237,752 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,499,893 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $261,041,000 after buying an additional 36,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Nucor by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,094,177 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $190,376,000 after buying an additional 22,596 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:NUE traded up $0.77 on Tuesday, hitting $171.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,393,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,439,980. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $129.79 and a 1 year high of $203.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 4.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $188.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 1.65.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 12.40%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.45 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. Nucor’s payout ratio is 12.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NUE has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.14.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total transaction of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 80,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,386,751.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Nucor news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total value of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 80,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,386,751.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,651 shares of company stock valued at $6,283,648 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.