Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Nucor (NYSE:NUE) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Monday morning.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on NUE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Argus set a $155.00 target price on Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 price target on Nucor in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $162.11.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $104.88 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $129.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48. Nucor has a one year low of $97.59 and a one year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.16 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s payout ratio is 26.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Nucor by 60.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 114 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.