Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 415 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $7,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter worth $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter worth $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter worth $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 45.6% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Nucor by 60.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $122.91 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $136.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.35. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $112.25 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

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

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at $14,499,436. This trade represents a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,636,254.72. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 over the last ninety days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NUE. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.63.

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.