Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $164.75.

NUE has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $154.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Up 1.4 %

NUE opened at $133.79 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $128.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.12. Nucor has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Nucor will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 26.16%.

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.