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

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $163.13.

NUE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $133.94 on Tuesday. Nucor has a one year low of $112.25 and a one year high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $127.21 and its 200 day moving average is $139.44. The firm has a market cap of $31.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.93, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

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

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.