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

Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $190.57.

A number of analysts have issued reports on NUE shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th.

Nucor Stock Performance

NUE opened at $151.92 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $149.67 and a 200 day moving average of $154.07. Nucor has a fifty-two week low of $133.42 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.57 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction 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. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Nucor by 129.0% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in Nucor by 45.6% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. 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.