Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nucor (NYSE:NUE) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Sunday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Freedom Broker downgraded Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Barclays lifted their price target on Nucor from $272.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. KeyCorp raised Nucor from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $274.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Nucor from $285.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Nucor from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.93.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE opened at $251.12 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $255.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $233.51. Nucor has a twelve month low of $131.32 and a twelve month high of $280.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $56.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.84.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $4.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.46 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $10.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.15 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 12.73%. Nucor’s revenue was up 23.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Nucor will post 18.89 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nucor news, COO Stephen D. Laxton sold 3,968 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.96, for a total transaction of $1,019,617.28. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,867 shares in the company, valued at $20,008,704.32. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas J. Batterbee sold 4,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.02, for a total transaction of $1,044,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,138 shares in the company, valued at $4,212,340.76. This trade represents a 19.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. RKL Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Nucor by 0.9% during the first quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,318 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $899,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. grew its holdings in Nucor by 3.6% in the second quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 1,417 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in Nucor by 4.6% in the second quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 1,396 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Nucor by 49.2% during the first quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 191 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management increased its position in shares of Nucor by 4.3% during the third quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 1,560 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

About Nucor

Nucor Corporation is a Charlotte, North Carolina-based steel producer and one of the largest steel companies in North America. The company operates electric arc furnace (EAF) steel mills that use recycled scrap steel as a primary raw material, along with facilities that manufacture and process steel products for construction, manufacturing, transportation, energy and other industrial markets.

Nucor’s product portfolio includes carbon and alloy steel in sheet, plate, bar and structural forms, as well as reinforcing steel, wire and wire mesh.