Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Stake Lowered by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank cut its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 25.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,184 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 4,160 shares during the period. Commerce Bank's holdings in Nucor were worth $1,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co increased its position in Nucor by 29.6% during the third quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 19,037 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,866,000 after buying an additional 4,345 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,024,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,004,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Nucor by 9.6% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 36,493 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,486,000 after buying an additional 3,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in Nucor by 4.6% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 19,075 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,868,000 after buying an additional 833 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Stock Up 3.1 %

NUE stock traded up $3.45 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $115.38. 1,784,074 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,057,510. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $123.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $132.41. The company has a market capitalization of $26.60 billion, a PE ratio of 13.72, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 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 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 period last year, the company earned $3.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. Nucor's payout ratio is 26.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NUE. UBS Group raised shares of Nucor from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 target price on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Argus set a $155.00 price target on shares of Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.