Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Board Authorizes Stock Repurchase Plan

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 20th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to purchase up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Nucor Price Performance

NYSE:NUE traded down $0.13 on Friday, reaching $179.91. The stock had a trading volume of 2,073,418 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,930,118. The company has a market capitalization of $41.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.86. Nucor has a 1-year low of $97.59 and a 1-year high of $196.90. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $174.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NUE. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Nucor from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Citigroup upped their target price on Nucor from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Nucor from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 7,568 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.50, for a total value of $1,426,568.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 67,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,763,523.50. The trade was a 10.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 7,452 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.02, for a total value of $1,460,741.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 76,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,020,620.56. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,351 shares of company stock worth $6,206,158. Company insiders own 0.46% 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.