Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Receives $183.75 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $173.75.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Nucor Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE NUE opened at $117.43 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $144.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $149.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61. Nucor has a one year low of $113.94 and a one year high of $203.00. The firm has a market cap of $27.57 billion, a PE ratio of 11.35 and a beta of 1.55.

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

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,499,436. This trade represents a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Nucor by 3.1% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Nucor by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 19,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,868,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Nucor by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 36,493 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,197 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,004,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,024,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.