Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $7.18 Million Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 19.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 61,549 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,810 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $7,183,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of NUE. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth about $333,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Nucor by 103.0% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,015 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 515 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Nucor by 1.2% during the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,468 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,273,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $239,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.33.

Nucor Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $130.07 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $112.25 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $128.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.81.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.16 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.16%.

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.