Range Financial Group LLC Purchases 220 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)

Range Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) by 13.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,874 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the quarter. Range Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Nucor were worth $371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $377,631,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Nucor by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,070,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $360,430,000 after buying an additional 237,752 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Nucor by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,499,893 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $261,041,000 after buying an additional 36,304 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Nucor by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,367,209 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $237,949,000 after buying an additional 85,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Nucor by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,094,177 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $190,376,000 after buying an additional 22,596 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE opened at $155.52 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $169.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.14. Nucor Co. has a 1 year low of $140.07 and a 1 year high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 4.02 and a quick ratio of 2.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.29 billion, a PE ratio of 9.15 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.62%. Nucor’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.45 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 11.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on NUE. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Citigroup upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Nucor from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $188.38.

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.