Analysts Set Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Price Target at $190.57

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the eight research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two 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 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $190.57.

A number of research firms have issued reports on NUE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Argus upgraded Nucor to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE traded up $1.93 during trading on Friday, hitting $151.92. 1,276,373 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,133,838. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business's fifty day moving average is $149.67 and its 200-day moving average is $154.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.68 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor has a one year low of $133.42 and a one year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.57 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Nucor will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Nucor's payout ratio is currently 20.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,499,436. This represents a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. National Pension Service grew its position in Nucor by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 652,502 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $98,097,000 after purchasing an additional 20,258 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional lifted its stake in Nucor by 52.8% in the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 17,245 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,726,000 after acquiring an additional 5,960 shares in the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth about $681,000. Ascension Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the 2nd quarter valued at about $885,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,655,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.