1ST Source Bank Cuts Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

1ST Source Bank cut its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,648 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 270 shares during the quarter. 1ST Source Bank’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,009,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Nucor by 19.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,456,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $519,648,000 after buying an additional 571,682 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $205,282,000 after acquiring an additional 358,721 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter worth $38,714,000. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,724,117,000 after purchasing an additional 326,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Nucor during the third quarter valued at about $46,731,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NUE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Argus set a $155.00 target price on Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.33.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $132.26 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $129.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $138.42. The stock has a market cap of $30.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. Nucor Co. has a one year low of $112.25 and a one year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the business earned $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

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.