Analysts Set Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Price Target at $183.75

Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $173.75.

NUE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus upgraded Nucor to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $156.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock.

Nucor Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE:NUE traded down $2.18 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $115.78. 2,868,852 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,598,991. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The firm has a market cap of $27.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $150.18. Nucor has a 52-week low of $115.29 and a 52-week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The firm's revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.57 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Nucor will post 8.48 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.55 dividend. This is a positive change from Nucor's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Nucor's payout ratio is 21.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NUE. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 326,181 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Nucor by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,861,945 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $883,732,000 after purchasing an additional 74,569 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Nucor by 2.2% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,909,388 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $617,915,000 after purchasing an additional 84,558 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Nucor by 19.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,456,484 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $519,648,000 after purchasing an additional 571,682 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 3.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,160,803 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $341,580,000 after buying an additional 67,974 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is 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.