New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Trims Stock Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board decreased its position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,309 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 400 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Nucor were worth $1,320,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Widmann Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in shares of Nucor by 45.6% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in Nucor by 1.4% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $822,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in Nucor by 1.7% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $696,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. Finally, TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Nucor by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Up 1.6 %

NUE stock opened at $137.75 on Tuesday. Nucor Co. has a 12 month low of $112.25 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The firm has a market cap of $32.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $3.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.