OLD National Bancorp IN Decreases Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

OLD National Bancorp IN trimmed its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 7.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 12,485 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 951 shares during the quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Nucor by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,175,571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $652,851,000 after acquiring an additional 149,589 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Nucor by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,262,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $353,794,000 after acquiring an additional 159,230 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Nucor by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,070,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $360,430,000 after acquiring an additional 237,752 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Nucor by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,463,589 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $228,832,000 after acquiring an additional 11,541 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Nucor by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,094,177 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $190,376,000 after acquiring an additional 22,596 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,326 shares in the company, valued at $15,902,206.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 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 have sold 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683 over the last ninety days. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE stock opened at $191.74 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $46.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.66 and a beta of 1.61. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $129.79 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $191.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 3.57.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.60 by ($0.14). Nucor had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The firm had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.45 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on NUE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Nucor from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. UBS Group began coverage on Nucor in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock 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 given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.83.

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.