SPC Financial Inc. Boosts Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

SPC Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,432 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 381 shares during the quarter. SPC Financial Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Nucor by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 87,085 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,672 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 18,365 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,143,000 after purchasing an additional 828 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,680,468 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $196,127,000 after buying an additional 68,252 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its position in Nucor by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 71,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,381,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, DJE Kapital AG purchased a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at $302,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Trading Down 3.6 %

NYSE NUE opened at $129.25 on Wednesday. Nucor Co. has a one year low of $112.25 and a one year high of $203.00. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $127.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.32. The firm has a market cap of $30.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released 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 return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Nucor’s payout ratio is 26.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.13.

About Nucor

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.