Howard Bailey Securities LLC Buys New Shares in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Howard Bailey Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $842,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of NUE. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Down 3.2 %

Nucor stock opened at $133.63 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $125.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $140.71. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $112.25 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The firm has a market cap of $31.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.16 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on NUE shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.13.

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.