Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $122.20, but opened at $126.47. Nucor shares last traded at $126.06, with a volume of 850,675 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Argus set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Nucor from $156.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $157.22.

Nucor Trading Up 3.6%

The business's fifty day moving average price is $115.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.67.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $7.25 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 6.82% and a net margin of 4.40%. Nucor's revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nucor news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were 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. The trade was 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 at this link. Insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 73.5% during the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Nucor by 81.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 340 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

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.

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