Delta Financial Advisors LLC Sells 4,160 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Delta Financial Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 12.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,156 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 4,160 shares during the period. Nucor makes up about 2.1% of Delta Financial Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Delta Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $4,900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of NUE. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 15,470.4% during the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,204 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 4,177 shares during the period. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Nucor by 716.7% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE traded down $1.18 on Thursday, reaching $191.60. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 233,703 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,364,293. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $191.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.20. 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 0.30, a current ratio of 3.57 and a quick ratio of 2.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 1.61.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.64 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The business’s revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.89 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 13 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total transaction of $1,025,035.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,902,206.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,151 shares of company stock valued at $7,308,683 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on NUE shares. UBS Group initiated coverage on Nucor in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.83.

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.