Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Lowers Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC trimmed its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,338 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 262 shares during the period. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,790,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at $239,000. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in Nucor by 4.9% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 16,344 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,457,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in Nucor by 9.0% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 55,512 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,346,000 after acquiring an additional 4,569 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Nucor by 2.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,612,216 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $242,381,000 after acquiring an additional 45,467 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the third quarter valued at $428,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Nucor from $154.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Four equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.33.

Nucor Trading Down 5.8 %

Shares of NUE stock opened at $122.02 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $130.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.72. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The company has a market capitalization of $28.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its 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 business posted $3.16 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s payout ratio is 26.16%.

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.