Bank of Nova Scotia Raises Stock Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 212.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,424 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 79,137 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Nucor were worth $13,588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Horrell Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Nucor by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,657 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,111,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,157 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc raised its position in shares of Nucor by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 10,528 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 29.1% in the 4th 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 period. Finally, Zhang Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 5,284 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $617,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE stock traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $110.30. The company had a trading volume of 368,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,054,221. 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 capitalization of $25.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.67. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $97.59 and a 12-month high of $195.96. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $126.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.01.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.16 earnings per share. On average, 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor's payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Nucor from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Argus set a $155.00 target price on Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned 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 company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.33.

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.