Mizuho Securities USA LLC Acquires 6,865 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 44.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,255 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,865 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,597,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 2.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 326,181 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Nucor in the fourth quarter worth about $565,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Nucor by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,861,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $883,732,000 after buying an additional 74,569 shares during the period. InvesTrust bought a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,388,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 249,984 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,583,000 after acquiring an additional 34,149 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE stock opened at $127.54 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. 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 one year low of $112.25 and a one year high of $203.00. The company’s 50-day moving average is $130.75 and its 200 day moving average is $137.64.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted 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 net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Argus set a $155.00 price target on shares of Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Nucor currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.78.

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.