Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,213,656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 200,901 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.02% of Nucor worth $3,292,816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,724,117,000 after buying an additional 326,181 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,861,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $883,732,000 after acquiring an additional 74,569 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $205,282,000 after purchasing an additional 358,721 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,680,468 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $196,127,000 after purchasing an additional 68,252 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Nucor by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,679,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $195,977,000 after purchasing an additional 104,238 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $127.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $112.25 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $130.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.56.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 26.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on NUE. Argus set a $155.00 price objective on Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.78.

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.