Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 17,055 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Yousif Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 93,688 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 17,055 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $16,305,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in Nucor by 716.7% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC grew its position in shares of Nucor by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Nucor by 2,410.0% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total value of $1,025,035.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,902,206.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total value of $1,025,035.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,902,206.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total value of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at $15,386,751.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,151 shares of company stock valued at $7,308,683. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE NUE traded down $16.99 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $174.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,805,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,426,247. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $129.79 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $191.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.18. The company has a market cap of $41.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 3.57 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 13.03%. The business had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.45 earnings per share. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Nucor’s payout ratio is 12.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on NUE. Citigroup raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Nucor from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com raised Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Nucor in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.83.

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.