Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Price Target Raised to $184.00

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its price objective boosted by UBS Group from $183.00 to $184.00 in a research note published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

NUE has been the subject of a number of other reports. Seaport Research Partners upped their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. 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. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 29th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $188.00.

Nucor Stock Down 0.7%

Nucor stock opened at $160.94 on Monday. Nucor has a 1-year low of $97.59 and a 1-year high of $196.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market cap of $36.66 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $176.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.78.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly 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). Nucor had a return on equity of 8.26% and a net margin of 5.37%.The business had revenue of $7.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.71%.

Nucor declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, February 20th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to purchase up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Thomas J. Batterbee sold 2,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.28, for a total value of $330,560.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,967,106.56. The trade was a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 3,881 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total transaction of $690,818.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 88,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,717,044. The trade was a 4.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 34,351 shares of company stock worth $6,206,158 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. 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.