Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $183.75.

NUE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus raised Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, UBS Group reissued 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.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In related news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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 Trading of Nucor

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Widmann Financial Services Inc. boosted 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 valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Nucor by 2.1% during the second quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Nucor by 3.3% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $822,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $117.96 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $147.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.70 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor has a 52-week low of $117.57 and a 52-week high of $203.00. 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 (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The business’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Nucor will post 8.48 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This is an increase 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%.

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.