Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Acquired by Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 961.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 33,061 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,946 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $3,859,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Nucor in the third quarter worth $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 60.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE stock opened at $132.00 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $128.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.22. The firm has a market cap of $31.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.70, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $112.25 and a 1 year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) 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 in the prior year, the company earned $3.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on NUE. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.13.

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.