BayBridge Capital Group LLC Trims Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

BayBridge Capital Group LLC cut its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,351 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 603 shares during the quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in Nucor during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE:NUE opened at $130.18 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.48 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. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $126.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.47.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm earned $3.16 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.