Central Bank & Trust Co. Has $3.79 Million Stock Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Central Bank & Trust Co. lessened its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 32,464 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 6,102 shares during the quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $3,789,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Zhang Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Nucor by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 5,284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $617,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Community Bank of Raymore increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Community Bank of Raymore now owns 5,170 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 14,551 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,698,000 after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Polianta Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 33.8% during the fourth quarter. Polianta Ltd now owns 10,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Finally, Liberty One Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Nucor by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 2,696 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In related news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 in the last 90 days. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE opened at $124.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $29.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $112.25 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.40.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 8.13 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 paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NUE has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lowered their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.63.

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.