Flputnam Investment Management Co. Boosts Holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. raised its stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 44.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,423 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,661 shares during the quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Nucor were worth $633,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in Nucor by 8,530.1% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,595,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $239,819,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576,695 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 19.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,456,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $519,648,000 after buying an additional 571,682 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $205,282,000 after buying an additional 358,721 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,724,117,000 after acquiring an additional 326,181 shares during the period. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth about $46,731,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Trading Down 2.6 %

Nucor stock opened at $133.94 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51. Nucor Co. has a fifty-two week low of $112.25 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The stock has a market cap of $31.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.93, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $127.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.44.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 period last year, the company posted $3.16 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Nucor’s payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NUE has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.