Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $158.86 and last traded at $158.6290, with a volume of 328089 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $156.25.

Analyst Ratings Changes

NUE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Nucor from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $147.00 to $167.00 in a report on Friday, November 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Nucor in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America increased their price target on Nucor from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $172.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $167.20.

Nucor Stock Up 1.8%

The firm has a market cap of $36.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.34, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $142.44 and a 200 day moving average of $136.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $8.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 7.80% and a net margin of 5.18%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.49 EPS. Nucor has set its Q4 2025 guidance at -2.630 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nucor news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 2,003 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.57, for a total value of $303,594.71. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 88,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,364,533.18. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 9,042 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $1,367,873.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 73,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,143,436.08. This represents a 10.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 18,045 shares of company stock valued at $2,720,628. 0.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NUE. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its position in Nucor by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,462 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 5.6% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,330 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 51.4% in the second quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. now owns 221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 1.9% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $531,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 1.9% during the second quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,326 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.