Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Holdings Raised by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 14.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 377,911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 49,011 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.16% of Nucor worth $44,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Norges Bank bought a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $398,077,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $205,282,000 after purchasing an additional 358,721 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter worth $38,714,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,724,117,000 after purchasing an additional 326,181 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,906,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NUE. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 price target on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday. Argus set a $155.00 target price on Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group began 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group raised Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $160.00 in a report on Monday, March 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.44.

Nucor Trading Down 4.4 %

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $121.90 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $112.25 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.29. The company has a market cap of $28.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s payout ratio is 26.16%.

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.