Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $130.26, but opened at $136.80. Nucor shares last traded at $136.90, with a volume of 1,357,284 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on NUE shares. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $163.13.

Nucor Stock Up 0.6 %

The company has a market cap of $32.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 1.60. The company’s 50 day moving average is $125.83 and its 200 day moving average is $140.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.16 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.16%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp increased its position 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 valued at $1,724,117,000 after purchasing an additional 326,181 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,861,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $883,732,000 after buying an additional 74,569 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,456,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $519,648,000 after buying an additional 571,682 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $205,282,000 after buying an additional 358,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,680,468 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $196,127,000 after buying an additional 68,252 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Company Profile

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.