Analysts Set Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) PT at $165.63

Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $165.63.

NUE has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total transaction of $1,860,210.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 in the last three months. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its stake in Nucor by 45.6% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Nucor by 60.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Trading Up 1.1 %

NUE opened at $123.08 on Monday. Nucor has a 12-month low of $112.25 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.90 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 1.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $135.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.10.

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

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s payout ratio is 21.26%.

About Nucor

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.