Delta Financial Advisors LLC Reduces Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Delta Financial Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,592 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,412 shares during the quarter. Nucor accounts for 1.2% of Delta Financial Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Delta Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $3,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in Nucor by 8,530.1% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,595,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $239,819,000 after buying an additional 1,576,695 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Nucor by 19.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,456,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $519,648,000 after buying an additional 571,682 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at $74,829,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Nucor by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $205,282,000 after purchasing an additional 358,721 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Nucor by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,724,117,000 after purchasing an additional 326,181 shares during the period. 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 a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com raised Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.13.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE stock opened at $136.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $125.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.65. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $112.25 and a 12-month 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. The company has a market cap of $31.94 billion, a PE ratio of 16.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 previous year, the firm earned $3.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.