Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by Capital World Investors

Capital World Investors cut its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 19.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,064,332 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 719,397 shares during the period. Capital World Investors owned about 1.31% of Nucor worth $357,638,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $398,077,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Nucor by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,404,477 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $280,627,000 after buying an additional 474,274 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,435,265 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $284,220,000 after acquiring an additional 384,205 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $205,282,000 after acquiring an additional 358,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth about $38,714,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Stock Performance

Nucor stock traded up $3.45 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $115.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,784,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,057,510. The firm has a market cap of $26.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.72, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.67. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $97.59 and a twelve month high of $176.83. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $123.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $132.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

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 for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 posted $3.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor's payout ratio is 26.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Nucor from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus set a $155.00 price target on Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Nucor from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $160.33.

About Nucor

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.