Allianz SE Buys Shares of 2,920 Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Allianz SE purchased a new position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 2,920 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $338,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 60.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Nucor by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 417 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on NUE. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus set a $155.00 price target on Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. 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, March 11th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.44.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $121.90 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $112.25 and a 1 year high of $203.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.10 billion, a PE ratio of 14.50, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $130.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.27.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its 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 net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.16 EPS. As a group, equities 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 declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.16%.

Nucor 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.