Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Nucor Corporation has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from eight brokerages, with an average 12-month target price of $155.78.
• Recent analyst reports show price target changes, with JPMorgan upgrading Nucor's target to $162.00 and Jefferies raising it to $170.00.
• Nucor announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.5%.

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $155.7778.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on NUE shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Nucor to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.37, for a total transaction of $1,303,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 94,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,265,209.60. This trade represents a 9.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,051,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 92,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,458,134. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,397 shares of company stock valued at $6,763,814 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Nucor by 16.8% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 946,303 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $122,597,000 after buying an additional 135,870 shares in the last quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Nucor by 99.7% during the second quarter. Cim Investment Management Inc. now owns 12,625 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,554,000 after buying an additional 6,302 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $341,000. L1 Capital Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $658,000. Finally, Pitcairn Co. boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 34.1% in the 2nd quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 2,366 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 601 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE NUE traded down $0.95 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $148.85. 355,501 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,403,713. The firm has a market cap of $34.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.74. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $140.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Nucor has a fifty-two week low of $97.59 and a fifty-two week high of $170.52.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $8.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.47 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 4.21% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.71%.

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.