Fourpath Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Fourpath Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,919 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 249 shares during the quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,508,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,724,117,000 after buying an additional 326,181 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its position in Nucor by 3.2% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 652,502 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $98,097,000 after acquiring an additional 20,258 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at about $565,000. BIP Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $681,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Nucor by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,861,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $883,732,000 after purchasing an additional 74,569 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on NUE. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.13.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,452,524 over the last three months. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $131.57 on Tuesday. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $128.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $142.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.16 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. Nucor’s payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

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.