Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Receives $157.22 Average PT from Brokerages

Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Buy" from the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $157.22.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $156.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wall Street Zen cut Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Argus set a $155.00 target price on Nucor in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th.

Nucor Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of NYSE NUE traded up $3.39 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $121.84. 3,303,641 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,212,119. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $115.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $123.58. The company has a market cap of $28.11 billion, a PE ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.67. Nucor has a twelve month low of $97.59 and a twelve month high of $170.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $7.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.25 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total transaction of $4,115,065.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 162,993 shares in the company, valued at $19,590,128.67. This represents a 17.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 528.6% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 507,715 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $59,235,000 after acquiring an additional 426,949 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in Nucor by 38.0% in the fourth quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 8,455 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $987,000 after purchasing an additional 2,327 shares during the period. Grace & White Inc. NY lifted its position in Nucor by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY now owns 122,339 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $14,278,000 after purchasing an additional 13,100 shares during the period. Howard Bailey Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $842,000. Finally, DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP acquired a new position in Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,100,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.