Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Has $2.08 Million Stock Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. decreased its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 13.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,796 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,456,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $519,648,000 after buying an additional 571,682 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $205,282,000 after purchasing an additional 358,721 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter worth about $38,714,000. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,724,117,000 after purchasing an additional 326,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth about $46,731,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NUE shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $154.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.33.

Nucor Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $132.26 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $112.25 and a 1 year high of $203.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $129.75 and its 200-day moving average is $138.42.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm posted $3.16 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

About Nucor

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.