Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Decreases Stock Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. lessened its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,375 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 84 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nucor during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its position in Nucor by 208.0% during the 1st quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Nucor by 54.1% in the 1st quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 168 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 716.7% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NUE shares. 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 note on Monday, June 17th. Citigroup raised Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Nucor from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.67.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $158.08 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.69. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $140.07 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The company has a market capitalization of $37.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 4.02, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 10.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.71%.

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.