Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $172.26 and last traded at $171.1140, with a volume of 129454 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $169.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on NUE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Nucor from $173.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.00.

Nucor Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $39.99 billion, a PE ratio of 24.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $159.87 and a 200 day moving average of $147.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.77 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $8.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 5.18% and a return on equity of 7.80%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.49 EPS. Nucor has set its Q4 2025 guidance at -2.630 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.46%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 9,042 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $1,367,873.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 73,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,143,436.08. This represents a 10.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 2,003 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.57, for a total value of $303,594.71. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 88,174 shares in the company, valued at $13,364,533.18. This represents a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 25,995 shares of company stock worth $3,990,634 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Nucor by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,171,068 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,778,820,000 after acquiring an additional 211,741 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 3.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,501,779 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,626,321,000 after purchasing an additional 371,911 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $856,792,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $479,858,000. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its position in Nucor by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,042,761 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $412,081,000 after buying an additional 509,019 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.