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

Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $195.00.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on NUE. Argus raised Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $170.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, September 9th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, May 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 26th.

Nucor Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $142.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $150.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $167.06. The stock has a market cap of $34.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.41 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor has a 52-week low of $133.42 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 2.93.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $8.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.69 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 15.69%. Nucor’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.81 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Nucor will post 9.95 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 12.71%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $1,379,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,847,840. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Nucor by 129.0% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Nucor in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Nucor by 94.2% in the first quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp increased its stake in Nucor by 208.0% in the first quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

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.