Korea Investment CORP Decreases Stock Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Korea Investment CORP decreased its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 56.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 148,700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 193,587 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned approximately 0.06% of Nucor worth $17,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Widmann Financial Services Inc. grew its position in Nucor by 4.0% in the third quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Nucor by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,657 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,111,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the period. Jessup Wealth Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 10,528 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,229,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Finally, Redwood Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 1.0% during the third quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 9,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Down 4.4 %

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $121.90 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $28.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.50, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $130.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.27. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $112.25 and a 52-week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (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 earned $3.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on NUE shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Argus set a $155.00 target price on Nucor in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Three investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.44.

Nucor 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.