Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $164.75.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NUE shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Nucor from $154.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE stock opened at $133.79 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $128.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.12. Nucor has a 12-month low of $112.25 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $3.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Nucor will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 26.16%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 18.1% in the third quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 2,829 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 5.2% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,009 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 54.3% in the third quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 3,366 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $506,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 9.1% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 218,698 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,981,000 after buying an additional 18,325 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 3.2% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 652,502 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $98,097,000 after buying an additional 20,258 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.