Swiss National Bank Sells 41,200 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 670,500 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 41,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.29% of Nucor worth $78,254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 60.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:NUE opened at $132.26 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.57. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.25 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $30.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company earned $3.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 26.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NUE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Nucor from $154.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus set a $155.00 target price on Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.33.

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.