Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by Holderness Investments Co.

Holderness Investments Co. trimmed its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 8,870 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 782 shares during the period. Holderness Investments Co.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Nucor by 60.3% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Nucor by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 417 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NUE. Argus set a $155.00 price target on shares of Nucor in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Nucor from $154.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.33.

Nucor Price Performance

NYSE NUE opened at $129.42 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $138.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $112.25 and a 52-week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.16%.

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.