Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Price Target Cut to $286.00 by Analysts at KeyCorp

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its price target decreased by KeyCorp from $288.00 to $286.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

NUE has been the topic of several other research reports. Seaport Research Partners upped their price objective on Nucor from $245.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $270.00 price target on shares of Nucor in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Nucor from $224.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Nucor from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.93.

Nucor Trading Up 4.6%

NUE stock opened at $251.51 on Monday. Nucor has a fifty-two week low of $131.32 and a fifty-two week high of $280.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $256.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.88. The firm has a market cap of $57.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.84.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $4.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.46 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $10.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.15 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 12.73%. The business’s revenue was up 23.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 18.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Nucor’s payout ratio is 17.86%.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other news, COO Stephen Laxton sold 3,968 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.96, for a total transaction of $1,019,617.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,008,704.32. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas Batterbee sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.02, for a total value of $1,044,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 16,138 shares in the company, valued at $4,212,340.76. This trade represents a 19.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in Nucor by 19.3% in the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 510,331 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $86,297,000 after purchasing an additional 82,668 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Nucor by 31.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 61,952 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,800,000 after buying an additional 14,736 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Nucor during the 2nd quarter worth $7,954,000. BIP Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the second quarter worth about $852,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Nucor by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,809,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $306,054,000 after acquiring an additional 29,476 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Company Profile

Nucor Corporation is a Charlotte, North Carolina-based steel producer and one of the largest steel companies in North America. The company operates electric arc furnace (EAF) steel mills that use recycled scrap steel as a primary raw material, along with facilities that manufacture and process steel products for construction, manufacturing, transportation, energy and other industrial markets.

Nucor’s product portfolio includes carbon and alloy steel in sheet, plate, bar and structural forms, as well as reinforcing steel, wire and wire mesh.