GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires New Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 1,608 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $301,000.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

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

Nucor Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $172.76 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 4.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $129.79 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The company has a market capitalization of $41.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 1.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $191.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.17.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.45 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Nucor’s payout ratio is presently 12.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NUE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group initiated coverage on Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.14.

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.