Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Cuts Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lessened its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 271,460 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 29,700 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.12% of Nucor worth $31,682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 60.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 417 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised Nucor from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $156.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group upgraded Nucor from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $160.00 in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Argus set a $155.00 target price on Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.33.

Nucor Stock Performance

Nucor stock traded up $3.45 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $115.38. 1,783,926 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,059,619. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.60 billion, a PE ratio of 13.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The business's 50-day moving average is $123.56 and its 200-day moving average is $132.41. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $97.59 and a 12-month high of $178.32.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Nucor's payout ratio is 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.