Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Increases Stock Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 181 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Nucor were worth $561,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,576,695 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 571,682 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Nucor by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $205,282,000 after buying an additional 358,721 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter worth $38,714,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in Nucor by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,724,117,000 after acquiring an additional 326,181 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Argus set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Nucor in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Nucor from $154.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.33.

Nucor Stock Performance

NUE opened at $129.51 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business’s 50 day moving average is $129.42 and its 200-day moving average is $138.69. The stock has a market cap of $29.86 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00.

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

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

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.