National Pension Service Has $38.22 Million Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

National Pension Service cut its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 49.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 327,472 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 325,030 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Nucor were worth $38,219,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 8,530.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,595,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $239,819,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576,695 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,456,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $519,648,000 after purchasing an additional 571,682 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $74,829,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 25.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew 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 purchasing an additional 326,181 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Trading Up 2.0 %

NYSE:NUE opened at $137.52 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $126.86 and its 200-day moving average is $139.55. 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 cap of $32.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company posted $3.16 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Nucor’s payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NUE has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup decreased their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.13.

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.