Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Given New $197.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its target price raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $194.00 to $197.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $190.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Nucor from $182.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $180.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Friday, January 9th. Seaport Research Partners raised 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. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $188.30.

Nucor Trading Down 1.9%

Nucor stock opened at $158.84 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $176.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.83. Nucor has a 52-week low of $97.59 and a 52-week high of $196.90.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 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 prior year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Nucor will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 29.71%.

Nucor announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to buy up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Nucor news, EVP Thomas J. Batterbee sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.28, for a total transaction of $330,560.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,967,106.56. This represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 7,568 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 67,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,763,523.50. The trade was a 10.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,401 shares of company stock worth $5,266,712. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Stance Capital LLC bought a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Nucor

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.