Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Has $67.74 Million Stock Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 17.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 580,423 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 84,460 shares during the period. Nucor comprises 1.4% of Ceredex Value Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned about 0.25% of Nucor worth $67,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 60.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 417 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $110.54 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $25.48 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.67. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $97.59 and a 1 year high of $195.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $126.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.01.

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, topping 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 firm posted $3.16 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s payout ratio is 26.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on NUE shares. UBS Group raised Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Argus set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.11.

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.