Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Increases Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 961.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,061 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 29,946 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $3,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Nucor by 60.3% during the 4th 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 and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $132.00 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 stock has a market cap of $31.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $112.25 and a 1-year high of $203.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $128.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.22.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the company earned $3.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup lowered their target price 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price target (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 given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.13.

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.