Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Freedom Broker upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. Freedom Broker now has a $304.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $285.00. Nucor traded as high as $280.22 and last traded at $280.5590, with a volume of 95,248 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $273.87.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Nucor from $224.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen cut Nucor from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings raised Nucor from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Nucor from $280.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $304.00 target price on Nucor in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $286.44.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In related news, EVP Noah Hanners sold 5,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.03, for a total value of $1,427,405.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 44,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,121,397.19. This trade represents a 10.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Nucor in the second quarter valued at about $4,452,563,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 0.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,539,044 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $429,298,000 after buying an additional 22,718 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the second quarter valued at about $462,886,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 2nd quarter valued at about $413,814,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,809,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $306,054,000 after buying an additional 29,476 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Up 3.0%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $253.79 and a 200 day moving average of $223.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The basic materials company reported $5.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.84 by ($0.04). Nucor had a net margin of 9.26% and a return on equity of 15.53%. The firm had revenue of $11.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 32.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor Corporation will post 19.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 14.26%.

Nucor Company Profile

Nucor Corporation is a steel producer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company manufactures steel and steel products for customers in construction, automotive, energy, heavy equipment, transportation and other industrial markets.

Nucor’s operations include electric arc furnace steel mills, which produce carbon, alloy and galvanized steel products. Its product portfolio includes sheet steel, plate, beams, bars, wire and wire mesh, steel joists, deck, piling, fabricated concrete reinforcing steel and other downstream products.