Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 87,819 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 641 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Nucor were worth $10,249,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Nucor by 2.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 326,181 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Nucor by 3.2% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 652,502 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $98,097,000 after buying an additional 20,258 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $565,000. BIP Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at $681,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Nucor by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,861,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $883,732,000 after buying an additional 74,569 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on NUE shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.13.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE NUE opened at $142.47 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.94 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $124.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $140.05.

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 last year, the company posted $3.16 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 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 $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.