Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 85.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,868 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 33,991 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Nucor by 528.6% during the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 507,715 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $59,235,000 after buying an additional 426,949 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in Nucor by 38.0% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 8,455 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $987,000 after purchasing an additional 2,327 shares during the last quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY increased its stake in Nucor by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY now owns 122,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,278,000 after purchasing an additional 13,100 shares during the last quarter. OFC Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $878,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Nucor by 274.7% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 177,232 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $20,685,000 after purchasing an additional 129,938 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total value of $4,115,065.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 162,993 shares in the company, valued at $19,590,128.67. This trade represents a 17.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 price target on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Argus set a $155.00 price target on shares of Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $156.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $160.33.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE stock opened at $115.32 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $97.59 and a twelve month high of $176.59. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $128.81. The company has a market capitalization of $26.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.73.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.15). Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business had revenue of $7.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.25 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.46 EPS. Nucor’s revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.15%.

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.