Community Bank N.A. Decreases Stock Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Community Bank N.A. cut its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 36,452 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,721 shares during the quarter. Nucor makes up about 0.8% of Community Bank N.A.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $6,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth about $235,000. 1900 Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth about $212,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Nucor by 310.9% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 1,029 shares during the last quarter. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth about $212,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Nucor by 56.3% during the 3rd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 955 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $149,000 after buying an additional 344 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NUE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Nucor in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup raised Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $193.14.

Nucor Stock Performance

Nucor stock traded down $1.88 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $172.76. 2,586,233 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,441,052. 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 stock has a market cap of $41.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 1.61. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $129.79 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $191.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.17.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 19.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 12.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of Nucor 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total transaction of $3,772,655.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683. 0.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.