Erste Asset Management GmbH Sells 8,342 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Erste Asset Management GmbH cut its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 84.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,590 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 8,342 shares during the quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Nucor were worth $184,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.9% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $565,000. BIP Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $681,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,861,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $883,732,000 after purchasing an additional 74,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, InvesTrust acquired a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,388,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on NUE. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Nucor from $154.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group reiterated 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Four research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.33.

Nucor Stock Performance

NUE opened at $132.26 on Friday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $129.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.48. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $112.25 and a 1-year high of $203.00. The company 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 (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share 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 quarter in the prior year, the business 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued 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 1.66%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.