Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Sells 799 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC trimmed its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,648 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 799 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $2,176,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in Nucor by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 131,373 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,333,000 after acquiring an additional 10,528 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Nucor by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 377,911 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,106,000 after purchasing an additional 49,011 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth about $1,961,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $398,077,000. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Nucor by 46.0% during the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 43,719 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,102,000 after purchasing an additional 13,784 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $119.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.59 billion, a PE ratio of 14.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. Nucor Co. has a 52 week low of $112.25 and a 52 week high of $203.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $130.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.96. 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 (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.16 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued 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 1.84%. Nucor’s payout ratio is 26.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NUE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 price target on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Argus set a $155.00 price target on Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three equities research 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 MarketBeat.com, Nucor currently 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.