Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Stock Position Lowered by Braun Stacey Associates Inc.

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. reduced its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 125,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,111 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Nucor worth $14,699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Widmann Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Nucor by 4.0% in the third quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in Nucor by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $822,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its position in Nucor by 1.7% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NUE stock opened at $137.75 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $32.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $112.25 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.18.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company earned $3.16 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NUE has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set 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 initiated coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.13.

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.