Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by AustralianSuper Pty Ltd

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 715,332 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 32,207 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd owned about 0.30% of Nucor worth $83,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of Nucor by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 5,568 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $650,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in Nucor by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 9,013 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at $842,000. Park Capital Management LLC WI bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Grace & White Inc. NY boosted its position in Nucor by 12.0% during the fourth quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY now owns 122,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,278,000 after purchasing an additional 13,100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE stock traded down $2.67 on Wednesday, hitting $139.85. The company had a trading volume of 2,371,180 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,914,607. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $32.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $124.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.99.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. Nucor's payout ratio is 26.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on NUE. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Nucor from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $163.13.

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.