Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Receives $164.44 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $164.44.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NUE shares. Argus set a $155.00 price target on Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 target price on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, March 24th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Nucor by 52.6% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 19,985 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,005,000 after acquiring an additional 6,885 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 4,622 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 8,017 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,567 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 5.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,478,917 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $222,340,000 after purchasing an additional 80,757 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in Nucor by 9.9% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 10,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,503,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $120.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Nucor has a 52 week low of $112.25 and a 52 week high of $203.00. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $130.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced 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 quarter last year, the company posted $3.16 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

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.