Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $164.44.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NUE. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 target price on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, March 24th.

Nucor Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NUE opened at $123.29 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $130.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Nucor has a 12-month low of $112.25 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Nucor will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Nucor by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,724,117,000 after purchasing an additional 326,181 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,967,254 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $701,255,000 after buying an additional 105,309 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $398,077,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Nucor by 18.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,435,265 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $284,220,000 after acquiring an additional 384,205 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Nucor by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,404,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $280,627,000 after acquiring an additional 474,274 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

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.