EP Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 473 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 33.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,905 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 716.7% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2,410.0% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Down 1.1 %

NUE stock opened at $155.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 4.02 and a quick ratio of 2.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.15 and a beta of 1.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $171.75 and a 200-day moving average of $178.21. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $140.07 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The company had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.45 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 11.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Nucor from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Citigroup upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $188.38.

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.