Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Stock Position Decreased by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 14.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 203,111 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 33,178 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.09% of Nucor worth $23,705,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Widmann Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Nucor by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its holdings in Nucor by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,467 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $822,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in Nucor by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,629 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $696,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in Nucor by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 3,696 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $556,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. StockNews.com raised Nucor from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nucor currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $163.13.

Nucor Price Performance

NYSE NUE traded down $2.67 on Wednesday, reaching $139.85. 2,327,778 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,913,254. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $124.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.99. 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 company has a market cap of $32.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $112.25 and a 12 month high of $203.00.

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 quarter last year, the firm posted $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.