Norinchukin Bank The Buys 1,276 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Norinchukin Bank The raised its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 12.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,546 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,276 shares during the quarter. Norinchukin Bank The’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,348,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $398,077,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Nucor by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,404,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $280,627,000 after acquiring an additional 474,274 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Nucor by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,435,265 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $284,220,000 after purchasing an additional 384,205 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $205,282,000 after buying an additional 358,721 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $38,714,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

NYSE:NUE opened at $110.62 on Monday. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $97.59 and a 52-week high of $193.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $125.13 and a 200 day moving average of $133.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.67.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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. On average, research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NUE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 price target on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Nucor from $156.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.33.

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.