O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Has $4.44 Million Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 23.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 38,037 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 11,781 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $4,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Nucor by 60.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Nucor by 29.1% during the 4th 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 bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter worth about $50,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Stock Up 3.0 %

Nucor stock opened at $123.29 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $130.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.86. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $112.25 and a 1-year 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.16 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NUE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup cut their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.44.

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.