Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Reaches New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading 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 traded. The stock had previously closed at $225.81.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on NUE. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Nucor from $196.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Nucor from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Nucor from $180.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Nucor from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.80.

Insider Activity at Nucor

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Nucor by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,407,540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,633,554,000 after purchasing an additional 144,038 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Nucor by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,853,205 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $628,497,000 after purchasing an additional 41,728 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $609,002,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake in Nucor by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,042,761 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $412,081,000 after purchasing an additional 509,019 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Nucor by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,103,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $342,642,000 after purchasing an additional 210,577 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Trading Up 2.8%

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

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Nucor Corporation will post 13.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Tuesday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 22.18%.

Nucor announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to reacquire up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign 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.