Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Receives $194.43 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $194.43.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NUE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Nucor from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $187.00 to $176.00 in a report on Thursday.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $1,379,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,049 shares in the company, valued at $15,847,840. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Nucor by 129.0% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Nucor by 94.2% in the first quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the first quarter worth about $28,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Trading Up 0.0 %

NUE opened at $145.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 2.93. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $155.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.19. Nucor has a one year low of $139.41 and a one year high of $203.00. The stock has a market cap of $34.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.54 and a beta of 1.57.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.37. Nucor had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 10.45%. The company had revenue of $8.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.81 EPS. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Nucor will post 10.57 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th were paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.71%.

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.