Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 105,309 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,967,254 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 105,309 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.54% of Nucor worth $701,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Summit Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 170.6% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 4,752 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $557,000 after acquiring an additional 2,996 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Nucor by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 251,364 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,380 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Nucor by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 16,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,917,000 after purchasing an additional 287 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in Nucor by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 407,299 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,966,000 after buying an additional 16,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz SE bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $338,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $123.29 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The company has a market capitalization of $28.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $112.25 and a 1-year high of $203.00.

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

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on NUE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup cut 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. Argus set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.