Ethic Inc. Sells 19,466 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Ethic Inc. trimmed its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 65.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,242 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 19,466 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 61,438 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,170,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Nucor by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,913 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,942,000 after purchasing an additional 2,565 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 339.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 4,755 shares during the period. Eastern Bank increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 2,283 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $266,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter worth $3,872,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nucor news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total transaction of $4,115,065.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 162,993 shares in the company, valued at $19,590,128.67. The trade was a 17.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $118.94 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.11. Nucor Co. has a 52 week low of $97.59 and a 52 week high of $176.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.73.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.15). Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. The company had revenue of $7.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.46 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.85%. Nucor’s payout ratio is presently 39.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on NUE. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 target price on Nucor in a research report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Nucor from $156.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com cut shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $160.33.

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.