Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Receives $183.75 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $173.75.

Several analysts have issued reports on NUE shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Argus upgraded shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th.

Nucor Stock Up 0.7 %

NUE stock opened at $116.58 on Thursday. Nucor has a twelve month low of $113.94 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The company has a market cap of $27.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $145.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.76.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.57 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 8.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 21.26%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,499,436. This trade represents a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Nucor by 2.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,724,117,000 after buying an additional 326,181 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its position in Nucor by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 652,502 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $98,097,000 after purchasing an additional 20,258 shares in the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC bought a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $681,000. Ascension Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $885,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $883,732,000 after buying an additional 74,569 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

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.