Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 75.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 22,580 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 70,449 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,635,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in Nucor by 8,530.1% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,595,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $239,819,000 after buying an additional 1,576,695 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 571,682 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at $74,829,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Nucor by 25.6% during 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 period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in Nucor by 2.9% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Up 0.1 %

NUE opened at $134.73 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $126.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.58. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $112.25 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $3.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 26.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NUE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup decreased 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. Four equities research 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, the company presently 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.