Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $189.67.

A number of research firms have weighed in on NUE. Citigroup upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Nucor by 94.2% in the 1st quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Nucor by 208.0% during the 1st quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $157.00 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $177.87. The company has a current ratio of 4.02, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Nucor has a 12 month low of $140.07 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.24 and a beta of 1.57.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 12.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.45 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 10.84 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.38%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.71%.

About Nucor

Nucor Corporation engages in manufacture and sale of steel and steel products. It operates in three segments: steel mills, steel products, and raw materials. The Steel Mills segment produces hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and galvanized sheet steel products; plate steel products; wide-flange beams, beam blanks, and H-piling and sheet piling structural steel products; bar steel products, such as blooms, billets, concrete reinforcing and merchant bars, and engineered special bar quality products; and engages in the steel trading and rebar distribution businesses.