Vest Financial LLC Acquires 179,246 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 35.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 680,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 179,246 shares during the period. Nucor comprises about 1.4% of Vest Financial LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $79,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NUE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com cut Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.13.

Nucor Stock Down 2.3 %

NYSE:NUE opened at $130.18 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 1.60. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $126.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $141.47.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.16 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

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.