Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 233,648 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,280,448 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 233,648 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.20% of Nucor worth $5,794,601,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in NUE. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $377,631,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $108,747,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the first quarter valued at approximately $90,216,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Nucor by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,070,960 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $360,430,000 after purchasing an additional 237,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Nucor by 4,453.7% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 110,064 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $21,782,000 after purchasing an additional 107,647 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on NUE shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nucor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, May 20th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $191.29.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of Nucor stock traded down $3.17 on Friday, reaching $162.50. The stock had a trading volume of 1,564,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,606,451. The business's 50-day moving average price is $161.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $176.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 4.02. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $140.07 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The stock has a market cap of $38.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.56 and a beta of 1.57.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 12.40%. The firm had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.45 earnings per share. Nucor's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 10.72 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Nucor's payout ratio is currently 12.71%.

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.