Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 87,819 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 641 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Nucor were worth $10,249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in Nucor by 31.2% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $652,000 after acquiring an additional 1,329 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of Nucor by 65.9% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,375 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 417 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Bull Street Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Bull Street Advisors LLC now owns 9,522 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,111,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 5,568 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $650,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on NUE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup cut their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.13.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $142.47 on Wednesday. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $33.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94 and a beta of 1.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $140.05.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 in the prior year, the company posted $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 26.16%.

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.