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

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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $165.63.

A number of research firms have weighed in on NUE. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced 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. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 target price (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $118.62 on Monday. 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 company has a market cap of $27.85 billion, a PE ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $136.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.58. Nucor has a fifty-two week low of $112.25 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Nucor will post 8.48 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 21.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nucor news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total value of $1,860,210.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,499,436. This represents a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in Nucor during the third quarter worth $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Nucor in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 60.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.