Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) Receives $157.60 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $157.60.

Several research firms recently commented on NUE. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Nucor from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Bank of America raised their target price on Nucor from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Nucor from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Nucor from $182.00 to $173.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 22nd.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE stock opened at $140.66 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $32.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.75. Nucor has a 12 month low of $97.59 and a 12 month high of $170.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $140.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.21.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.47 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 4.21%.Nucor’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Nucor’s payout ratio is presently 39.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,200 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $1,051,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 92,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,458,134. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 6,088 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.41, for a total value of $903,520.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 22,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,333,882.24. The trade was a 21.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 31,309 shares of company stock worth $4,553,771. 0.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. IMA Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 51.4% in the 2nd quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. now owns 221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 53.8% in the 2nd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 240 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 81.8% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 340 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 45.5% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 320 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

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.