Empirical Finance LLC Sells 3,139 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Empirical Finance LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 26.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,685 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 3,139 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $137.53 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $32.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $126.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $141.00. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $112.25 and a 1-year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS 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 earned $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.13.

Nucor Profile

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.