Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $276.07

Shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $276.07.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NUE shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Nucor from $272.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings raised Nucor from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Freedom Broker lowered shares of Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $285.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, COO Stephen Laxton sold 3,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.96, for a total value of $1,019,617.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 77,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,008,704.32. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thomas Batterbee sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,212,340.76. The trade was a 19.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.62% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Markowski Investments acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $240.31 on Wednesday. Nucor has a twelve month low of $131.32 and a twelve month high of $280.11. The firm has a market cap of $54.52 billion, a PE ratio of 19.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.84. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $256.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $4.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.46 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $10.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 7.99%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Nucor will post 18.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Nucor’s payout ratio is presently 17.86%.

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.