Welch Group LLC Has $326,000 Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Welch Group LLC lifted its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 16.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,676 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $326,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NUE. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Nucor by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,542 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $297,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Nucor by 20.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $449,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth approximately $162,000. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,210 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $84,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Nucor

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on NUE shares. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 target price on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Argus set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Nucor in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $156.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.89.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $108.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $97.59 and a 1 year high of $170.52. The stock has a market cap of $25.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.73. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $114.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.07.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business had revenue of $7.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.46 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

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.