IFG Advisory LLC Buys 328 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

IFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,549 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the quarter. IFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,140,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in Nucor during the 1st quarter valued at $48,000. Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in Nucor by 150.6% during the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 7,198 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,067,000 after buying an additional 4,326 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Nucor by 106.2% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 35,889 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,328,000 after acquiring an additional 18,488 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 1st quarter worth $284,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Nucor during the first quarter worth about $222,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Nucor in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Nucor from $151.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $186.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,817,153.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total value of $1,025,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,902,206.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,817,153.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683 in the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE:NUE opened at $198.56 on Thursday. Nucor Co. has a 52 week low of $129.79 and a 52 week high of $198.63. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $184.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 3.57. The firm has a market cap of $47.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 1.61.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.64 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 14.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.01%.

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.