Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $167.80 and last traded at $167.3690, with a volume of 191021 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $164.33.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Nucor from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Nucor from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $147.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $171.70.

Nucor Trading Down 1.0%

The company has a market cap of $37.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.16, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.85. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $148.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $140.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

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

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Nucor’s payout ratio is 30.90%.

Insider Activity at Nucor

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 shares were sold at an average price of $151.57, for a total transaction of $303,594.71. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 88,174 shares in the company, valued at $13,364,533.18. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP John J. Hollatz sold 7,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total transaction of $1,049,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 96,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,470,914. The trade was a 6.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,045 shares of company stock worth $2,720,628. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Nucor by 51.4% in the second quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. now owns 221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 53.8% in the second quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 240 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. AXS Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 281.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC now owns 271 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.