Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Raises Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 131,373 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 10,528 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Nucor were worth $15,333,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $695,000 after buying an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its stake in Nucor by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 10,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,503,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at $840,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth $1,493,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth about $78,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NUE has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 note on Tuesday, March 11th. Argus set a $155.00 target price on Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.44.

Nucor Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $119.68 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.96. Nucor Co. has a 52 week low of $112.25 and a 52 week high of $203.00. The company has a market cap of $27.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 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 previous year, the company earned $3.16 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend yield of 1.84%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

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.