Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $272.68 and last traded at $272.4680, with a volume of 689350 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $261.28.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on NUE shares. KeyCorp raised Nucor from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $274.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Seaport Research Partners upped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $245.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. UBS Group increased their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Nucor from $260.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Nucor from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.31.

Nucor Stock Up 4.8%

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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $243.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.26. The company has a market cap of $62.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.91.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $4.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.46 by $0.38. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 7.99%.The business had revenue of $10.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Nucor Corporation will post 17.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.86%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John J. Hollatz sold 10,560 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.46, for a total value of $2,729,337.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 97,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,294,187.90. The trade was a 9.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Stephen D. Laxton sold 3,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.96, for a total transaction of $1,019,617.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 77,867 shares in the company, valued at $20,008,704.32. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,028 shares of company stock worth $4,311,455. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NUE. RKL Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Nucor by 0.9% during the first quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,318 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $899,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 1,417 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in Nucor by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 1,396 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Company Profile

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) is an American steel producer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company is primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of steel and steel products, operating a network of steel mills, recycling facilities and fabrication plants across the United States and North America. Nucor’s operations emphasize electric arc furnace steelmaking using recycled scrap metal, which supports a decentralized, mill-based production model focused on efficiency and flexibility.

Product offerings span a broad range of basic and value?added steel items, including sheet, plate, merchant bar, structural beams, reinforcing bar, tubing, fasteners and fabricated components.