Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Now Covered by The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor (NYSE:NUE) in a research report report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $190.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Argus upgraded Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. 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 report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.50.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE NUE opened at $156.37 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $36.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.11 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor has a twelve month low of $133.42 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $150.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.14.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion during 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 firm’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.57 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nucor will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Nucor’s payout ratio is presently 20.87%.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. This represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,499,436. This represents a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 129.0% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in Nucor by 45.6% in the third 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 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.