Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $192.83.

NUE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th.

Nucor Stock Up 0.3 %

Nucor stock opened at $191.36 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 1.61. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $191.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.57. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Nucor has a 1-year low of $129.79 and a 1-year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.64 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 21.42%. Nucor’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.89 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor will post 13.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 12.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total transaction of $1,025,035.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,902,206.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the sale, the insider now owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. American National Bank & Trust Co. VA acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 1st quarter valued at about $325,000. Retirement Guys Formula LLC boosted its position in Nucor by 2.9% in the first quarter. Retirement Guys Formula LLC now owns 6,381 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,263,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services acquired a new position in Nucor in the first quarter valued at about $4,336,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in Nucor by 11.7% in the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,308 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after buying an additional 558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Nucor by 50.0% in the first quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.