Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. Buys 13,611 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 34.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 53,173 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 13,611 shares during the period. Nucor accounts for approximately 1.1% of Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $6,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter worth $29,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in Nucor by 45.6% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NUE. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.13.

Nucor Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of NUE stock opened at $135.19 on Friday. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $125.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.74 billion, a PE ratio of 16.07, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $112.25 and a 52-week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (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 company earned $3.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. 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.