World Investment Advisors Purchases 548 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

World Investment Advisors grew its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,014 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the quarter. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in Nucor were worth $1,636,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in Nucor by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 10,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,503,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth about $78,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Nucor by 2,073.4% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 4,499 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 4,292 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Nucor by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Nucor by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 34,398 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,963 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Trading Down 6.1 %

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $103.14 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $99.77 and a 1-year high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The business’s 50 day moving average is $130.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.67.

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, 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NUE shares. UBS Group raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $160.00 in a report on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus set a $155.00 price objective on Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 target price on Nucor in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.44.

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.