41,100 Shares in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Acquired by Entropy Technologies LP

Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 41,100 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,797,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in Nucor by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 80,535 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,399,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Counterweight Ventures LLC boosted its position in Nucor by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Counterweight Ventures LLC now owns 14,465 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,688,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Nucor by 74.0% in the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,015 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $819,000 after buying an additional 2,983 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Nucor by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,512 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 680,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $79,454,000 after purchasing an additional 179,246 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the company’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 value of $793,488.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

NUE opened at $130.18 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $112.25 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.57 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $126.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.24.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $3.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NUE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup reduced their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.13.

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.