Purus Wealth Management LLC Sells 133 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Purus Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,674 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 133 shares during the quarter. Purus Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NUE. State Street Corp boosted its position in Nucor by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,724,117,000 after buying an additional 326,181 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 652,502 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $98,097,000 after acquiring an additional 20,258 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter worth $565,000. BIP Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth about $681,000. Finally, Ascension Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Nucor in the second quarter valued at about $885,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE NUE opened at $124.40 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59. The company has a market capitalization of $29.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $112.25 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $133.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.40.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.57 EPS. Nucor’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 8.19 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Nucor’s payout ratio is presently 21.26%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,499,436. The trade was a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NUE shares. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Nucor from $168.00 to $152.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.63.

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.