Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 58,381 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Van ECK Associates Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 26.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 160,317 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 58,381 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Nucor were worth $18,711,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 1,060.2% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,390 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 2,184 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 0.8% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 109,174 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,413,000 after acquiring an additional 822 shares during the period. Good Life Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 1,597 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in Nucor by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 3,696 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in Nucor by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 32,256 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,849,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Stock Up 1.6 %

NYSE:NUE opened at $137.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $124.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.34. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $112.25 and a 1-year high of $203.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.38 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 prior year, the company posted $3.16 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on NUE. StockNews.com upgraded Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup cut 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 price target on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor 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.