Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Takes Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 35,562 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,150,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,456,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $519,648,000 after purchasing an additional 571,682 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 25.6% in the fourth 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,714,000. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,724,117,000 after buying an additional 326,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at about $46,731,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE stock opened at $132.26 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market cap of $30.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $129.75 and a 200-day moving average of $138.42. Nucor Co. has a one year low of $112.25 and a one year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on NUE. StockNews.com raised Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Citigroup cut their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Argus set a $155.00 price objective on Nucor in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.33.

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.