Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $193.99 and last traded at $190.0540, with a volume of 52299 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.84.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Nucor from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Seaport Research Partners boosted their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.36.

Nucor Stock Down 0.6%

The company has a current ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market cap of $43.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $170.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $153.06.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $7.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.93 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 5.37% and a return on equity of 8.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 3,881 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total transaction of $690,818.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 88,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,717,044. The trade was a 4.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas J. Batterbee sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.28, for a total transaction of $330,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 17,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,967,106.56. This trade represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 26,899 shares of company stock worth $4,745,417. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Hudson Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Nucor by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hudson Capital Management LLC now owns 34,784 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,506,000 after buying an additional 2,154 shares during the period. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Nucor during the second quarter worth about $236,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Nucor in the second quarter worth about $5,225,000. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in Nucor in the third quarter worth about $1,085,000. Finally, Peterson Wealth Services increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 587,032.0% during the third quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 146,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $19,879,000 after purchasing an additional 146,758 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

About Nucor

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) is an American steel producer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company is primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of steel and steel products, operating a network of steel mills, recycling facilities and fabrication plants across the United States and North America. Nucor’s operations emphasize electric arc furnace steelmaking using recycled scrap metal, which supports a decentralized, mill-based production model focused on efficiency and flexibility.

Product offerings span a broad range of basic and value?added steel items, including sheet, plate, merchant bar, structural beams, reinforcing bar, tubing, fasteners and fabricated components.