Stiles Financial Services Inc Raises Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Stiles Financial Services Inc boosted its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 19.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,376 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 721 shares during the quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc’s holdings in Nucor were worth $511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE NUE opened at $130.18 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $30.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 1.60. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $126.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.10. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $112.25 and a 12 month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS 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 period last year, the company posted $3.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Nucor’s payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup cut their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.13.

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.