Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $111.81 and last traded at $112.46, with a volume of 1262235 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $123.03.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on NUE shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $156.00 to $160.00 in a report on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 price target on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.44.

Nucor Trading Down 6.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.40. The company has a market cap of $23.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.16 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s payout ratio is 26.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $398,077,000. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Nucor by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,404,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $280,627,000 after purchasing an additional 474,274 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 528.6% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 507,715 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $59,235,000 after buying an additional 426,949 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Nucor by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,435,265 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $284,220,000 after buying an additional 384,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $205,282,000 after buying an additional 358,721 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.