Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Sets New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Shares of Nucor reached a new 52-week high after BNP Paribas Exane raised its price target to $248, with multiple analysts lifting targets and a MarketBeat consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target of about $243.80.
• Nucor beat quarterly expectations (EPS $3.23 vs. $2.82; revenue $9.50B vs. $8.88B) and its board authorized a $4.0 billion share buyback while declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.56 per share.
• Company insiders have sold shares in recent SEC filings, insiders own about 0.62% of the stock, and institutional investors hold approximately 76.48%.

Shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday after BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on the stock from $210.00 to $248.00. BNP Paribas Exane currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Nucor traded as high as $230.91 and last traded at $231.46, with a volume of 180435 shares. The stock had previously closed at $225.81.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on NUE. UBS Group downgraded Nucor from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $224.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Seaport Research Partners restated a "buy" rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Nucor from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Nucor from $180.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $243.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 7,452 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.02, for a total transaction of $1,460,741.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 76,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,020,620.56. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP David A. Sumoski sold 33,068 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.67, for a total value of $7,462,455.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 243,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $54,914,312.13. This represents a 11.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NUE. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 21.1% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the first quarter worth about $259,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 81.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 340 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the second quarter worth about $390,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 51.9% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 40,629 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $5,263,000 after purchasing an additional 13,877 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.22. The company has a market cap of $52.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.96, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.41. Nucor had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 6.82%.The company had revenue of $9.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Nucor Corporation will post 13.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Nucor's payout ratio is presently 22.18%.

Nucor announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to purchase up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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