Westpac Banking Corp Reduces Stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Westpac Banking Corp lowered its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) by 98.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 437 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 21,445 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Nucor were worth $51,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 9.9% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 10,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,503,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 2,073.4% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 4,499 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $676,000 after acquiring an additional 4,292 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 10.6% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,225 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 13.0% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 34,398 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,963 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group raised shares of Nucor from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $162.11.

Nucor Stock Down 6.5 %

Shares of NYSE NUE traded down $7.47 during trading on Thursday, hitting $108.03. 984,050 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,039,750. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51. The business's fifty day moving average is $128.38 and its 200 day moving average is $135.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.67. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $97.59 and a fifty-two week high of $199.15.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.16 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.16%.

Nucor Company 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.