Westpac Banking Corp Sells 21,445 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Westpac Banking Corp trimmed its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 98.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 437 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 21,445 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Nucor were worth $51,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

NUE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Argus set a $155.00 target price on Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 target price on Nucor in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.44.

Nucor Stock Down 6.1 %

Shares of NUE stock opened at $103.14 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $99.77 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The stock has a market cap of $23.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $130.19 and a 200 day moving average of $136.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.