Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. cut its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 16.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,085 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,959 shares during the quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,985,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NUE. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Tompkins Financial Corp grew its holdings in Nucor by 208.0% during the 1st quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the first quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 54.1% in the first quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 168 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NUE traded down $2.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $150.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,500,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,461,886. Nucor Co. has a 12-month low of $140.07 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The firm has a market cap of $36.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 4.02. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.06.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 12.40%. The business’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 10.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 12.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on NUE. StockNews.com cut Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Citigroup upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, May 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $189.50.

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.