Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 580 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,546 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 580 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Widmann Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 4.0% during the 3rd 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. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in Nucor by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Nucor by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Jessup Wealth Management Inc grew its holdings in Nucor by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 10,528 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Redwood Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 1.0% in the third quarter. Redwood Investment Management LLC now owns 9,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $132.26 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $138.57. The company has a market cap of $30.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.73, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $112.25 and a 1 year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 in the prior year, the business earned $3.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on NUE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Nucor from $154.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Argus set a $155.00 price target on shares of Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.33.

About Nucor

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.