Paradiem LLC Sells 44,738 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Paradiem LLC reduced its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 71.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,174 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 44,738 shares during the period. Paradiem LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Capstone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth about $216,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. boosted its holdings in Nucor by 300.0% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management UK Ltd. now owns 4,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth about $407,000. Zhang Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Nucor by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 5,284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Community Bank of Raymore boosted its holdings in Nucor by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Community Bank of Raymore now owns 5,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of NUE opened at $121.95 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.78 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $143.97. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.57 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 8.13 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,499,436. This trade represents a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 in the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.