Strs Ohio Purchases 68,668 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Strs Ohio increased its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 211.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 101,091 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 68,668 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Nucor were worth $17,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Keybank National Association OH increased its holdings in Nucor by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 19,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,009,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,481,000. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,230,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Nucor by 47.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 871 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Nucor by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 908,340 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $142,019,000 after buying an additional 22,470 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $192.12 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $129.79 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 1.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.06.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.64 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 21.42%. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.89 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Nucor’s payout ratio is 12.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NUE has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total transaction of $1,025,035.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,902,206.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total transaction of $1,901,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,386,751.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total transaction of $1,025,035.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,326 shares in the company, valued at $15,902,206.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683 in the last three months. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.