Mizuho Securities USA LLC Purchases 6,865 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 44.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,255 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,865 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Nucor by 60.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Nucor by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 417 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $127.54 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48. Nucor Co. has a one year low of $112.25 and a one year high of $203.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business earned $3.16 EPS. Analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NUE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley raised 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. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.78.

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.