Analysts Set Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Price Target at $190.57

Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $190.57.

Several analysts have issued reports on NUE shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Argus raised Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE stock opened at $154.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The stock has a market cap of $36.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88 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 50 day simple moving average of $150.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $153.67.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.57 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,499,436. This represents a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 over the last 90 days. 0.64% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its stake in Nucor by 4.1% during the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,630 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Widmann Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Nucor by 4.0% in the third quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Nucor by 2.1% in the second quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Nucor by 3.3% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 45.6% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

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.