Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE – Get Rating) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $142.89.
Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $127.00 to $114.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 6th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $172.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $115.00 to $113.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock.
Nucor Trading Down 1.8 %
Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $152.35 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $144.13 and its 200-day moving average is $132.27. The stock has a market cap of $39.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.52. Nucor has a twelve month low of $88.50 and a twelve month high of $187.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.79, a current ratio of 3.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.
Nucor (NYSE:NUE – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 20th. The basic materials company reported $6.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.45 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $10.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.43 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 19.93% and a return on equity of 51.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.28 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Nucor will post 28.17 EPS for the current year.
Nucor Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 29th. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 6.41%.
Insider Transactions at Nucor
In other news, EVP Gregory J. Murphy sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.29, for a total transaction of $411,870.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 49,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,802,582.21. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP John J. Hollatz sold 2,450 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.40, for a total transaction of $329,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 52,282 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,026,700.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Gregory J. Murphy sold 3,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.29, for a total transaction of $411,870.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 49,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,802,582.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,450 shares of company stock worth $1,145,280 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Nucor
A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NUE. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Nucor by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,935,947 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $828,592,000 after purchasing an additional 878,821 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 34.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 1,729,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $180,625,000 after acquiring an additional 446,034 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 97.8% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 820,706 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $121,998,000 after acquiring an additional 405,815 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA increased its position in Nucor by 268.0% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 482,427 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $50,370,000 after purchasing an additional 351,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in Nucor by 113.6% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 567,084 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $60,672,000 after purchasing an additional 301,535 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.33% of the company’s stock.
Nucor Company Profile
Nucor Corp. engages in the manufacturing of steel and steel products. It operates through the following segments: Steel Mills, Steel Products, and Raw Materials. The Steel Mills segment consists of carbon and alloy steel in sheet, bars, structural and plate, steel trading businesses, rebar distribution businesses, and Nucor’s equity method investments.