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

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $163.13.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NUE. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Nucor Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of NUE stock opened at $133.94 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $127.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.44. Nucor has a 12-month low of $112.25 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The firm has a market cap of $31.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.16 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Nucor’s payout ratio is 26.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

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.