Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at KeyCorp

KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Nucor (NYSE:NUE) in a report issued on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a sector weight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Nucor from $182.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Nucor from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Nucor from $194.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Nucor from $190.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $188.30.

Nucor Stock Up 1.3%

NUE opened at $164.91 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $176.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.31. Nucor has a twelve month low of $97.59 and a twelve month high of $196.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $7.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.93 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 8.26% and a net margin of 5.37%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Nucor will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to purchase up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 7,568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.50, for a total transaction of $1,426,568.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 67,711 shares in the company, valued at $12,763,523.50. This trade represents a 10.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 7,452 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.02, for a total transaction of $1,460,741.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 76,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,020,620.56. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 26,401 shares of company stock valued at $4,936,152 over the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth $1,528,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 15,814.3% in the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 3,342 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 3,321 shares during the period. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,085,000. Peterson Wealth Services lifted its position in Nucor by 587,032.0% in the third quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 146,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $19,879,000 after buying an additional 146,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covea Finance boosted its stake in Nucor by 75.4% during the third quarter. Covea Finance now owns 94,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $12,758,000 after buying an additional 40,500 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Company Profile

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) is an American steel producer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company is primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of steel and steel products, operating a network of steel mills, recycling facilities and fabrication plants across the United States and North America. Nucor’s operations emphasize electric arc furnace steelmaking using recycled scrap metal, which supports a decentralized, mill-based production model focused on efficiency and flexibility.

Product offerings span a broad range of basic and value‑added steel items, including sheet, plate, merchant bar, structural beams, reinforcing bar, tubing, fasteners and fabricated components.