Prudential Financial Inc. Has $15.01 Million Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Prudential Financial Inc. reduced its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 31.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 128,569 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 57,766 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Nucor worth $15,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 52.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 19,985 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,005,000 after purchasing an additional 6,885 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 7.7% during the third quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 2,573 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $387,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at $46,731,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on NUE shares. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three 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 MarketBeat, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.78.

Nucor Stock Up 0.2 %

NUE opened at $127.57 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. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.25 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The company has a market capitalization of $29.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $131.03 and a 200-day moving average of $137.42.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the business posted $3.16 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s payout ratio is 26.16%.

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.