NorthRock Partners LLC Takes Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

NorthRock Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,538 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $296,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth approximately $50,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Argus set a $155.00 price target on Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. 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. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Nucor from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.33.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE traded down $0.79 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $115.03. The stock had a trading volume of 1,197,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,110,004. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $26.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.73. The company's 50-day moving average price is $117.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.20. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $97.59 and a fifty-two week high of $173.00.

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

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total transaction of $4,115,065.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 162,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,590,128.67. The trade was a 17.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Nucor Company 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.