Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Stake Lessened by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,310 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 224 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Nucor were worth $1,904,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Widmann Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 4.0% in the third quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 1.4% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $822,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 1.7% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $696,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NUE has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective 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. cut their price objective on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued 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 a consensus price target of $163.13.

Nucor Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $135.19 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $31.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.60. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $125.19 and its 200-day moving average is $139.89. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $112.25 and a 52-week high of $203.00. 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 (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Equities research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.