Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Buys 368 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 368.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 468 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P’s holdings in Nucor were worth $55,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Nucor by 60.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Nucor by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 417 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Trading Down 4.4 %

Shares of NUE stock opened at $121.90 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.27. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $112.25 and a 1-year high of $203.00. The company has a market cap of $28.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.50, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NUE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.44.

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.