Mariner LLC Lowers Stock Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Mariner LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,037 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 6,320 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC's holdings in Nucor were worth $9,224,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Nucor by 60.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NUE. StockNews.com raised Nucor from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Argus set a $155.00 price target on shares of Nucor in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.33.

Nucor Stock Up 2.5 %

NYSE NUE traded up $2.75 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $114.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 485,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,811,876. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.67. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $123.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $132.41. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $97.59 and a twelve month high of $176.83.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 posted $3.16 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.