Hennessy Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lessened its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Nucor by 4.3% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 9,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Nucor by 126.5% during the 2nd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 56,761 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,973,000 after buying an additional 31,698 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Nucor by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its position in Nucor by 1.6% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 12,890 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,038,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 9.0% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 220,320 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,828,000 after acquiring an additional 18,200 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $124.40 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.60. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average of $133.52 and a 200-day moving average of $144.48. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $112.25 and a 52-week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 8.19 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on NUE. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the business’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 approximately $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,499,436. This trade represents a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

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.