Northern Trust Corp Reduces Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Northern Trust Corp lowered its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,333,344 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 149,602 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.42% of Nucor worth $389,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Nucor by 60.3% during 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 period. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE stock opened at $118.72 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.12, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.67. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $97.59 and a twelve month high of $176.59. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.32. 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 quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.15). The firm had revenue of $7.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.25 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. Nucor’s revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on NUE shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus set a $155.00 target price on shares of Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, March 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 target price on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Three 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.33.

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.