Peninsula Asset Management Inc. Cuts Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Peninsula Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,790 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,765 shares during the quarter. Nucor comprises approximately 1.3% of Peninsula Asset Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Peninsula Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Nucor in the third quarter valued at about $239,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 3.0% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,562 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 10.1% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 393,328 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $59,133,000 after buying an additional 35,943 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 4.4% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 268,879 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,423,000 after buying an additional 11,440 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on NUE. Citigroup reduced their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Nucor from $154.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.33.

Nucor Stock Up 2.1 %

Nucor stock opened at $132.26 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $129.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.57. The stock has a market cap of $30.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.73, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. Nucor Co. has a 52 week low of $112.25 and a 52 week high of $203.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.16 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.