Teacher Retirement System of Texas Increases Position in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 771.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,999 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after buying an additional 12,393 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Nucor were worth $1,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Nucor by 52.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 19,985 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,005,000 after acquiring an additional 6,885 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Nucor by 29.1% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 2,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 5.8% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Cynosure Group LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 2,573 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $387,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,731,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $160.00 in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.78.

Nucor Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $127.57 on Friday. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $112.25 and a 1 year high of $203.00. The company has a market capitalization of $29.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.42. 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 posted its 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 prior year, the company earned $3.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

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.