Howard Bailey Securities LLC Invests $842,000 in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Howard Bailey Securities LLC bought a new stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 7,211 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $842,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in Nucor in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE stock opened at $133.63 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $125.50 and a 200-day moving average of $140.71. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $112.25 and a 12 month high of $203.00.

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 return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s payout ratio is 26.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NUE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.13.

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.