Analysts Set Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Price Target at $195.00

Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $195.00.

Several research firms have recently commented on NUE. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Nucor from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $187.00 to $176.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, September 9th. Argus raised Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 17th.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $142.92 on Tuesday. Nucor has a 12 month low of $133.42 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.93, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $150.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $167.06. The company has a market cap of $34.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.41 and a beta of 1.55.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.37. Nucor had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 10.45%. The company had revenue of $8.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.81 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 9.95 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 12.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $1,379,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,847,840. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 2.5% in the second quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group now owns 7,511 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,187,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $7,248,000. Ariadne Wealth Management LP purchased a new stake in Nucor during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,359,000. SPC Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 8,897 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,406,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 103.6% in the second quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,619 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,050,000 after purchasing an additional 13,038 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Company Profile

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.