Cozad Asset Management Inc. Has $3.37 Million Stock Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 19,387 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 667 shares during the period. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $3,374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $108,747,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Nucor by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,070,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $360,430,000 after buying an additional 237,752 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Nucor by 7.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,262,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $353,794,000 after buying an additional 159,230 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 3.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,175,571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $652,851,000 after purchasing an additional 149,589 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Nucor by 23.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 680,506 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $106,395,000 after buying an additional 128,536 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Nucor news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the sale, the insider now owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total transaction of $3,772,655.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE stock traded down $5.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $170.00. 573,498 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,426,955. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $129.79 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $190.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 4.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.80 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 1.61.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The business had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.45 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 12.5 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NUE has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Citigroup raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.14.

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.