Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by Securian Asset Management Inc.

Securian Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,546 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 580 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,464,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 51.2% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $128,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,132 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 67,202 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,843,000 after purchasing an additional 5,385 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 5,296 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 10,777 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,258,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NUE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group started 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. UBS Group reiterated 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, Argus set a $155.00 target price on shares of Nucor in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.33.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $132.26 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $129.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.57. Nucor Co. has a 52 week low of $112.25 and a 52 week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.16 EPS. Research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 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.