CoreFirst Bank & Trust Purchases New Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 3,184 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $372,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NUE. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Nucor by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,724,117,000 after buying an additional 326,181 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Nucor by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,861,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $883,732,000 after acquiring an additional 74,569 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $205,282,000 after purchasing an additional 358,721 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,680,468 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $196,127,000 after purchasing an additional 68,252 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Nucor by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,679,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $195,977,000 after purchasing an additional 104,238 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $127.54 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $112.25 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $130.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.64. The firm has a market cap of $29.40 billion, a PE ratio of 15.16, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 last year, the firm posted $3.16 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group raised Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $156.00 to $160.00 in a report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Three equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.78.

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.