Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Increases Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 368.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 468 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Nucor were worth $55,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Horrell Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Nucor by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,657 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,111,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Jessup Wealth Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 10,528 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 1.0% in the third quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 9,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its position in Nucor by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 417 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE NUE opened at $121.90 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $28.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $112.25 and a 1-year high of $203.00. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $130.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.27.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share 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 company posted $3.16 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on NUE shares. UBS Group raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Argus set a $155.00 target price on Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.44.

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.