Hager Investment Management Services LLC Acquires New Shares in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 5,359 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $625,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NUE shares. StockNews.com lowered Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. 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. reduced their target price on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.13.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $130.78 on Wednesday. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.25 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.55 and a beta of 1.60. The business has a 50-day moving average of $128.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.81.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business earned $3.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.