Federated Hermes Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 30.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,536 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 34,085 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in Nucor were worth $9,166,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NUE. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its position in shares of Nucor by 53.8% in the fourth quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 20,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,334,000 after purchasing an additional 7,000 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC grew its stake in Nucor by 164.9% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 143,060 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $16,697,000 after buying an additional 89,059 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter worth $10,213,000. Smith Moore & CO. raised its position in shares of Nucor by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 1,845 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Unison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 42,252 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,954,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Nucor from $156.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Argus set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $160.33.

Nucor Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NUE traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $110.89. 276,445 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,874,054. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $25.56 billion, a PE ratio of 13.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.67. Nucor Co. has a one year low of $97.59 and a one year high of $195.96. The business's 50 day moving average is $126.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.01.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor's payout ratio is currently 26.16%.

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.