Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lowered its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,181 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 496 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Nucor were worth $721,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,724,117,000 after purchasing an additional 326,181 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 652,502 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $98,097,000 after acquiring an additional 20,258 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $565,000. BIP Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $681,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Nucor by 1.3% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on NUE shares. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.13.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE stock opened at $137.53 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35 and a beta of 1.60. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $112.25 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $126.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the company posted $3.16 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio 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.