Cozad Asset Management Inc. Sells 967 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 17,834 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 967 shares during the quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,081,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Nucor by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,724,117,000 after acquiring an additional 326,181 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $565,000. BIP Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $681,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Nucor by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,861,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $883,732,000 after acquiring an additional 74,569 shares during the period. Finally, InvesTrust bought a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,388,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NUE shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted 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. Citigroup decreased their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Nucor from $154.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.33.

Nucor Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $129.49 on Tuesday. 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.40, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. The business has a 50-day moving average of $129.93 and a 200-day moving average of $138.27.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued 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 earned $3.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.16%.

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.