Norges Bank Makes New $398.08 Million Investment in Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,410,825 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $398,077,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position 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 buying an additional 326,181 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at $565,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 1.3% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. InvesTrust acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,388,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Nucor by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 249,984 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,583,000 after purchasing an additional 34,149 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Down 4.4 %

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $121.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $130.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.27. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $112.25 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly 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 net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $156.00 to $160.00 in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.44.

Nucor 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.