Invesco LLC Has $315,000 Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Invesco LLC decreased its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,701 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 117 shares during the period. Invesco LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of NUE. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in Nucor in the third quarter worth $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in shares of Nucor by 45.6% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Nucor by 60.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NUE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price 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 reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.63.

Nucor Stock Up 1.1 %

NUE stock traded up $1.36 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $127.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 388,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,409,394. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $129.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $142.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.16 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company 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 is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total value of $1,860,210.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,452,524. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.