D.A. Davidson & CO. Cuts Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

D.A. Davidson & CO. decreased its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 16.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,215 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,924 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Nucor by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 35,988 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,200,000 after purchasing an additional 809 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Nucor by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 314,037 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,651,000 after purchasing an additional 28,622 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Nucor by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Nucor by 65.9% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,375 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Nucor by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 417 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Nucor Stock Down 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $135.19 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $31.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.07, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $112.25 and a 1 year high of $203.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $139.99.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $3.16 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on NUE. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $156.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Nucor from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $163.13.

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.

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