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

Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $192.00.

NUE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus raised Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, September 9th. 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 report on Wednesday, September 18th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 99,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,847,840. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Duncan Williams Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Nucor in the third quarter worth about $271,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 188.1% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 47,294 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,110,000 after purchasing an additional 30,879 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 48,348 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $7,269,000 after buying an additional 2,659 shares in the last quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Nucor by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 10,385 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,561,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group grew its position in Nucor by 2.5% in the second quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group now owns 7,511 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Stock Up 0.1 %

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

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $8.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.69 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 10.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.81 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 9.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. 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 (DPR) is presently 12.71%.

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.