Clearbridge Investments LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Clearbridge Investments LLC trimmed its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 27,699 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 616 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $5,482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $377,631,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $108,747,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Nucor in the first quarter valued at $90,216,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Nucor by 4,453.7% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 110,064 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $21,782,000 after acquiring an additional 107,647 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in Nucor by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 660,514 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $114,956,000 after acquiring an additional 93,471 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on NUE shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 17th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, May 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $191.29.

Nucor Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NUE traded up $3.22 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $158.01. The company had a trading volume of 134,035 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,468,983. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $161.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.79. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $37.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.11 and a beta of 1.57. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $140.07 and a 52-week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.37. Nucor had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 10.45%. The firm had revenue of $8.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.81 EPS. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 10.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.71%.

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.