US Bancorp DE Increases Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 70,287 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 4,410 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Nucor were worth $8,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NUE. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in Nucor during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 60.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NUE has been the topic of several recent research reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.13.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $129.25 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. The firm has a market cap of $30.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.60. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.32. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.25 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 previous year, the business earned $3.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

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

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.