Syon Capital LLC Increases Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Syon Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 8.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,919 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bailard Inc. purchased a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $233,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Nucor by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $301,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its stake in Nucor by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 123,470 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,489,000 after buying an additional 3,577 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its stake in Nucor by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 42,365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,373,000 after buying an additional 8,230 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NUE stock opened at $175.42 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $129.79 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 4.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.45.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 12.40%. The business had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.45 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 12.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, 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 transaction of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 24,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,902,206.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,151 shares of company stock valued at $7,308,683 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NUE. BMO Capital Markets decreased 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 note on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. 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. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.