Oxford Asset Management LLP Increases Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Oxford Asset Management LLP boosted its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 87.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,934 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,236 shares during the period. Oxford Asset Management LLP's holdings in Nucor were worth $809,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Nucor by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,967,254 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $701,255,000 after acquiring an additional 105,309 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter worth approximately $398,077,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Nucor by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,435,265 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $284,220,000 after purchasing an additional 384,205 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Nucor by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,404,477 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $280,627,000 after purchasing an additional 474,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Nucor by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $205,282,000 after buying an additional 358,721 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Nucor Stock Up 1.8 %

NUE traded up $2.15 on Tuesday, hitting $118.72. The company had a trading volume of 3,046,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,068,678. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $97.59 and a 52-week high of $176.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.12, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $122.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.41.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.15). Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. The business had revenue of $7.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.46 EPS. Nucor's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor's payout ratio is 26.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on NUE shares. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, March 24th. UBS Group raised shares of Nucor from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Argus set a $155.00 price target on Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised Nucor from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.