Analysts Set Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) PT at $187.90

Shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $188.00.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on NUE. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on Nucor from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Nucor from $184.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners lifted their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, EVP Thomas J. Batterbee sold 2,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.28, for a total value of $330,560.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,967,106.56. The trade was a 10.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 7,452 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.02, for a total value of $1,460,741.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 76,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,020,620.56. The trade was a 8.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 34,351 shares of company stock valued at $6,206,158 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Nucor by 0.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,171,068 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,778,820,000 after purchasing an additional 211,741 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Nucor by 3.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,501,779 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,626,321,000 after purchasing an additional 371,911 shares during the period. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $856,792,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Nucor by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,853,205 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $628,497,000 after buying an additional 41,728 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $609,002,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $162.78 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $177.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.67. Nucor has a 1-year low of $97.59 and a 1-year high of $196.90. The stock has a market cap of $37.08 billion, a PE ratio of 21.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.83.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted 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). Nucor had a return on equity of 8.26% and a net margin of 5.37%.The firm had revenue of $7.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

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

Nucor announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, February 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to reacquire up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Nucor

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.