UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Buys 4,976 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 28.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 22,401 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 4,976 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its position in Nucor by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 24,260 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,831,000 after purchasing an additional 3,095 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,257,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Nucor by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 417,695 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $48,223,000 after buying an additional 30,432 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 2,269 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $265,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in Nucor by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 24,721 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,885,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on NUE. Argus set a $155.00 target price on shares of Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 price objective on Nucor in a report on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.44.

Nucor Price Performance

NYSE NUE opened at $121.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock has a market cap of $28.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.50, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.27. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $112.25 and a 52-week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.16 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.