Brokerages Set Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) PT at $165.63

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $163.63.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on NUE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $168.00 to $152.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th.

Nucor Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $124.40 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Nucor has a 52-week low of $112.25 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The stock has a market cap of $29.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.60. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $133.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.40.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. Nucor’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.57 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Nucor will post 8.19 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.26%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In related news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total transaction of $1,860,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NUE. Red Door Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,192 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $489,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,785 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Nucor by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 29,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,479,000 after buying an additional 2,523 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Nucor by 274.7% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 177,232 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $20,685,000 after buying an additional 129,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth $216,000. 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.