Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. Cuts Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. decreased its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,072 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 735 shares during the period. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nwam LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor in the third quarter worth approximately $225,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 52.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 19,985 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,005,000 after purchasing an additional 6,885 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 209,925 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,560,000 after purchasing an additional 25,744 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Nucor by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 51,739 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,778,000 after purchasing an additional 4,189 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Nucor by 7.4% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 214,203 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,203,000 after purchasing an additional 14,813 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE stock opened at $127.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $112.25 and a 1 year high of $203.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $130.86 and a 200 day moving average of $137.56. The company has a market cap of $29.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.16, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) 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 period last year, the company posted $3.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NUE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. 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. Argus set a $155.00 price objective on Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $156.00 to $160.00 in a report on Monday. Three equities research 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.78.

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.