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

Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $190.57.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Argus raised Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $147.20 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $34.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.22 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor has a 52-week low of $133.42 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The business’s 50 day moving average is $147.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.61.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted 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 business had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.57 EPS. Analysts forecast that Nucor will post 8.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NUE. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 129.0% during the second 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. Chilton Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 94.2% during the first quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.