Brokerages Set Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) Price Target at $179.36

Shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $179.3636.

NUE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Seaport Research Partners boosted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $180.00 price target (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Nucor from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE stock opened at $178.70 on Tuesday. Nucor has a 12 month low of $97.59 and a 12 month high of $196.90. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $174.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.82. The firm has a market cap of $40.90 billion, a PE ratio of 23.70, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.18). Nucor had a net margin of 5.37% and a return on equity of 8.26%. The business had revenue of $7.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Nucor’s payout ratio is 29.71%.

Nucor declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to purchase up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 7,568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.50, for a total transaction of $1,426,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 67,711 shares in the company, valued at $12,763,523.50. The trade was a 10.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 3,881 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $690,818.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 88,298 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,717,044. This trade represents a 4.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 34,351 shares of company stock valued at $6,206,158 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 0.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,171,068 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,778,820,000 after acquiring an additional 211,741 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Nucor by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,501,779 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,626,321,000 after purchasing an additional 371,911 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new stake in Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at about $856,792,000. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Nucor by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,853,205 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $628,497,000 after purchasing an additional 41,728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth approximately $609,002,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.