Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Bought by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,132 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 60.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 417 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on NUE. Argus set a $155.00 price objective on Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Nucor from $154.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.33.

Nucor Price Performance

NYSE:NUE opened at $132.26 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $30.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $129.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.42. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $112.25 and a 12 month high of $203.00. 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 issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.16 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend 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.