Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Position Cut by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 310,483 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 54,027 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.13% of Nucor worth $36,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NUE. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Nucor by 60.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its position in 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 period. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NUE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Nucor from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Argus set a $155.00 price target on shares of Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $162.11.

Nucor Stock Down 5.9 %

Shares of NUE stock traded down $6.76 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $108.74. 731,996 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,930,377. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95, 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 $199.15. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $128.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. Nucor's 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.