Gateway Advisory LLC Takes Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Gateway Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,183 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $554,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 38.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 28,115 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,385,000 after buying an additional 7,823 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio grew its position in shares of Nucor by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 32,423 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,069,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the period. Advisor Partners II LLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 11,958 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,870,000 after purchasing an additional 1,464 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,411,000. Finally, Graypoint LLC lifted its stake in Nucor by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 2,148 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $336,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total transaction of $3,772,655.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at $23,351,936.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,817,153.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,651 shares of company stock worth $6,283,648 in the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NUE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $193.14.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of Nucor stock traded up $0.10 on Friday, reaching $174.47. 1,149,412 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,570,961. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $187.18 and its 200-day moving average is $176.02. The firm has a market cap of $41.83 billion, a PE ratio of 10.26 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 4.02. Nucor Co. has a one year low of $129.79 and a one year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.45 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 12.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.71%.

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.