Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Announces $0.55 Quarterly Dividend

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 18th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.55 per share by the basic materials company on Monday, May 12th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st.

Nucor has raised its dividend payment by an average of 8.2% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 52 consecutive years. Nucor has a payout ratio of 20.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Nucor to earn $10.99 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.0%.

Nucor Trading Down 3.4 %

Nucor stock traded down $4.77 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $135.19. The stock had a trading volume of 2,277,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,865,920. Nucor has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.74 billion, a PE ratio of 16.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $125.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $139.99.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share 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 in the previous year, the company earned $3.16 EPS. Analysts expect that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NUE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Nucor from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $163.13.

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.