OLD Republic International Corp Sells 50,000 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

OLD Republic International Corp lowered its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 13.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 312,200 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 50,000 shares during the quarter. Nucor comprises approximately 2.0% of OLD Republic International Corp's holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. OLD Republic International Corp owned approximately 0.13% of Nucor worth $54,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in Nucor by 716.7% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC boosted its position in Nucor by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 220 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Nucor by 2,410.0% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 251 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on NUE shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nucor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Citigroup upgraded shares of Nucor from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. 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 stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $193.14.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $3,772,655.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 120,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total value of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 80,902 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,386,751.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 32,651 shares of company stock worth $6,283,648. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NUE traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $174.47. The company had a trading volume of 1,127,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,501,836. The stock has a market cap of $41.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.26 and a beta of 1.65. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $187.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 4.02 and a quick ratio of 2.48. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $129.79 and a 12 month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The business's revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.71%.

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.