Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $276.07 According to Analysts

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $276.93.

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Freedom Broker cut shares of Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $305.00 to $285.00 in a report on Friday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Nucor from $294.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $288.00 to $286.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Nucor from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, EVP Thomas Batterbee sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.02, for a total value of $1,044,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 16,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,212,340.76. This trade represents a 19.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Stephen Laxton sold 3,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.96, for a total value of $1,019,617.28. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 77,867 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,008,704.32. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its position in Nucor by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 1,527 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Polaris Financial Partners bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at approximately $619,000. Boltwood Capital Management boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 4.3% during the third quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 1,560 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $365,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. CX Institutional boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 21.7% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 64,890 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $15,168,000 after buying an additional 11,592 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Nucor by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,184 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $277,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $251.12 on Wednesday. Nucor has a 52 week low of $131.32 and a 52 week high of $280.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $56.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $255.88 and a 200-day moving average of $233.51.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $4.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.46 by $0.38. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 7.99%.The business had revenue of $10.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 23.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Nucor will post 18.89 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th 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 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.86%.

Nucor Company Profile

Nucor Corporation is a Charlotte, North Carolina-based steel producer and one of the largest steel companies in North America. The company operates electric arc furnace (EAF) steel mills that use recycled scrap steel as a primary raw material, along with facilities that manufacture and process steel products for construction, manufacturing, transportation, energy and other industrial markets.

Nucor’s product portfolio includes carbon and alloy steel in sheet, plate, bar and structural forms, as well as reinforcing steel, wire and wire mesh.