Fifth Third Bancorp Has $1.21 Million Stock Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Fifth Third Bancorp reduced its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,353 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,421 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Nucor by 60.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Nucor news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % 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 worth $3,452,524. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NUE has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $168.00 to $152.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup cut 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Four investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.63.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE NUE opened at $126.55 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $143.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $112.25 and a 1 year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the business posted $3.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect 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 1.74%. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 21.26%.

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.