Grace & White Inc. NY Buys 13,100 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Grace & White Inc. NY increased its stake in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 12.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,100 shares during the quarter. Nucor makes up about 2.7% of Grace & White Inc. NY’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Grace & White Inc. NY’s holdings in Nucor were worth $14,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Nucor in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Stock Down 3.2 %

Nucor stock opened at $133.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock has a market cap of $31.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.25 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.71.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the business earned $3.16 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NUE. Citigroup cut their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.13.

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.