Candriam S.C.A. Purchases 2,150 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 12.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 18,930 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,150 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Widmann Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 4.0% during the third quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its position in shares of Nucor by 1.7% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position 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 worth $252,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Jessup Wealth Management Inc increased its position in shares of Nucor by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 10,528 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Redwood Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Nucor by 1.0% during the third quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 9,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,365,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $133.79 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $128.34 and a 200 day moving average of $139.07. The stock has a market cap of $30.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $112.25 and a 12 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.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NUE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $154.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.75.

Nucor Company 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.