Sigma Planning Corp Lowers Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Sigma Planning Corp decreased its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 74.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,747 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 10,992 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Nucor were worth $652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter worth $108,747,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,070,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $360,430,000 after purchasing an additional 237,752 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,262,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $353,794,000 after purchasing an additional 159,230 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 3.7% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,175,571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $652,851,000 after acquiring an additional 149,589 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 23.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 680,506 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,395,000 after acquiring an additional 128,536 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE:NUE opened at $172.76 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $191.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.17. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $129.79 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 4.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 1.61.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released 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). Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The company had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Nucor’s payout ratio is 12.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on NUE shares. UBS Group started coverage on Nucor in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at $15,386,751.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at $15,386,751.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total value of $1,025,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,326 shares in the company, valued at $15,902,206.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Company 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.