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

Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $186.67.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Citigroup raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the sale, the insider now owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were 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 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total transaction of $1,025,035.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,326 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,902,206.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,151 shares of company stock valued at $7,308,683 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Providence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Nucor by 15,470.4% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,204 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 4,177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 104 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $194.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 3.57. Nucor has a 52-week low of $129.79 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $190.42 and a 200-day moving average of $172.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 1.61.

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

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s payout ratio is 12.01%.

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.