Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. Trims Stock Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. trimmed its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 33,424 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,486 shares during the quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $3,901,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Widmann Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in Nucor by 45.6% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in shares of Nucor by 1.4% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $822,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $696,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $135.19 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $112.25 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The company has a market capitalization of $31.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $125.19 and a 200 day moving average of $139.82.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS 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 company earned $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s payout ratio is 26.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.13.

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.