Freestone Grove Partners LP Purchases Shares of 5,851 Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,851 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $683,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Nucor by 60.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 417 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In related news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total transaction of $4,115,065.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,590,128.67. This represents a 17.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Nucor Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NUE traded down $1.68 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $115.17. 2,928,853 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,084,621. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $120.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $97.59 and a twelve month high of $176.59. The stock has a market cap of $26.55 billion, a PE ratio of 13.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.73.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.15). Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The firm had revenue of $7.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NUE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com cut Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $156.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.33.

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.