Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $192.00.

A number of research firms have weighed in on NUE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Argus raised shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $176.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th.

Nucor Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:NUE opened at $151.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $36.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 2.93. Nucor has a 1 year low of $133.42 and a 1 year high of $203.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $147.33 and a 200-day moving average of $163.72.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $8.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.69 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 15.69%. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.81 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Nucor will post 9.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 12.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In related news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $1,379,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,847,840. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 129.0% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nucor in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 94.2% during the 1st quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 208.0% during the 1st quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.