Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $193.14.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NUE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. UBS Group began coverage on Nucor in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup raised Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com lowered Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th.

Nucor Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NUE stock opened at $171.79 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $41.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.11 and a beta of 1.65. Nucor has a fifty-two week low of $129.79 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 4.02.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.45 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Nucor will post 12.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.71%.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total value of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,386,751.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total transaction of $3,772,655.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total transaction of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 80,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,386,751.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,651 shares of company stock valued at $6,283,648 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Keybank National Association OH grew its position in shares of Nucor by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 19,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,009,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $3,481,000. AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 53.2% during the 4th quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 13,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,302,000 after acquiring an additional 4,592 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth about $1,230,000. Finally, abrdn plc raised its stake in Nucor by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 154,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,932,000 after acquiring an additional 45,521 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by 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.