Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by Granite Investment Partners LLC

Granite Investment Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,479 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 130 shares during the quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Nucor Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NUE opened at $111.22 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $127.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.45. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $97.59 and a twelve month high of $197.79. 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 $25.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.22, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.67.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 in the prior year, the company posted $3.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Citigroup cut their price target 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. Finally, Argus set a $155.00 price objective on Nucor in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.11.

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.