Everence Capital Management Inc. Buys Shares of 4,840 Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 4,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $565,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NUE. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Nucor by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,724,117,000 after purchasing an additional 326,181 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,861,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $883,732,000 after buying an additional 74,569 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,909,388 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $617,915,000 after buying an additional 84,558 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Nucor by 19.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,456,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $519,648,000 after buying an additional 571,682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Nucor by 3.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,160,803 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $341,580,000 after acquiring an additional 67,974 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $115.45 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.11 billion, a PE ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor Co. has a 52 week low of $112.25 and a 52 week high of $203.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $139.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.57 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,923,837.96. This represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at $13,636,254.72. This trade represents a 5.50 % 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 worth $4,773,724. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NUE has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Four 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.75.

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.