Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lowered its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 14.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 310,483 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 54,027 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Nucor worth $36,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,724,117,000 after acquiring an additional 326,181 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at $565,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Nucor by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,861,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $883,732,000 after purchasing an additional 74,569 shares during the last quarter. InvesTrust acquired a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter worth about $4,388,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 249,984 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,583,000 after buying an additional 34,149 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

NUE opened at $103.14 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $130.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.36. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $99.77 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The company has a market cap of $23.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.67. 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 (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm posted $3.16 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NUE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $156.00 to $160.00 in a report on Monday, March 24th. Argus set a $155.00 price target on shares of Nucor in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.44.

Nucor Company 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.