Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Sets New 1-Year High at $203.00

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $203.00 and last traded at $201.27, with a volume of 70436 shares. The stock had previously closed at $200.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on NUE shares. UBS Group began coverage on Nucor in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $186.67.

Nucor Stock Down 0.9 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $189.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $171.84. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 3.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $47.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.02 and a beta of 1.61.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.64 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 13.03%. Nucor’s revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.89 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In related news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $3,772,655.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Nucor news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $3,772,655.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,351,936.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683 over the last ninety days. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 15,470.4% in the first quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,204 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 4,177 shares during the period. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp grew its stake in Nucor by 208.0% during the first quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.