CWA Asset Management Group LLC Sells 135 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC cut its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,083 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 135 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Nucor by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $205,282,000 after buying an additional 358,721 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth $565,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Nucor by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $621,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Nucor by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 19,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,868,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $118.09 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $137.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.94. The company has a market cap of $27.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 1.60. 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.

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

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. 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 yield of 1.86%. Nucor’s payout ratio is presently 21.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the business’s 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 owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.