California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 417,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 38,099 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Nucor were worth $48,670,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in Nucor by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 407,299 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,966,000 after buying an additional 16,940 shares during the last quarter. Allianz SE acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $338,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Nucor by 1,597.1% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 577 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter worth about $837,000. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 80,901 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,442,000 after purchasing an additional 3,618 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on NUE shares. StockNews.com raised Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $156.00 to $160.00 in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.44.

Nucor Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NUE stock opened at $119.68 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $130.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $112.25 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The company has a market cap of $27.59 billion, a PE ratio of 14.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.16 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict 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 paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

Nucor 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.