Metis Global Partners LLC Buys 282 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,127 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 282 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NUE. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Nucor by 716.7% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC grew its holdings in Nucor by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Nucor by 2,410.0% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of Nucor stock traded down $2.90 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $171.02. The company had a trading volume of 1,541,252 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,439,901. The stock has a market cap of $41.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 1.65. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $129.79 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 4.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $189.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.42.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 12.40%. The company had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.45 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group started coverage on Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $193.14.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total transaction of $3,772,655.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Nucor news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $3,772,655.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total value of $1,901,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 80,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,386,751.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,651 shares of company stock worth $6,283,648 over the last three months. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.