Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Shares Sold by Nomura Holdings Inc.

Nomura Holdings Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 20.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,964 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 1,269 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 716.7% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 36.6% in the fourth quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Nucor by 2,410.0% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 251 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on NUE shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $188.38.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE opened at $156.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 4.02. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $140.07 and a 1-year high of $203.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $170.94 and a 200-day moving average of $178.06. The company has a market capitalization of $37.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.22 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The firm had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.45 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 11.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.71%.

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.