Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 2,467 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Yousif Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 2.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 82,070 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,467 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $9,578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in Nucor by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NUE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group restated 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. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.13.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE stock opened at $133.33 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $112.25 and a 1 year high of $203.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $127.56 and a 200 day moving average of $141.59. The company has a market cap of $31.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s payout ratio is 26.16%.

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.