Avior Wealth Management LLC Acquires 193 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,785 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 193 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Nucor by 60.3% in 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. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at $13,636,254.72. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total transaction of $1,860,210.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,109,918.96. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,452,524. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $121.98 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $28.64 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $130.66 and a 200-day moving average of $143.34. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $112.25 and a 1-year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 21.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NUE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $168.00 to $152.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock 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.