Nucor’s (NUE) “Neutral” Rating Reaffirmed at UBS Group

UBS Group restated their neutral rating on shares of Nucor (NYSE:NUE) in a report released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $156.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $171.00.

NUE has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus upgraded Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.75.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE stock opened at $131.42 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $150.05 and its 200-day moving average is $151.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.86 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor has a 52 week low of $130.65 and a 52 week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Nucor will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total transaction of $1,860,210.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,109,918.96. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. This represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in Nucor by 129.0% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in Nucor by 45.6% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Company Profile

Nucor Corporation engages in manufacture and sale of steel and steel products. It operates in three segments: steel mills, steel products, and raw materials. The Steel Mills segment produces hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and galvanized sheet steel products; plate steel products; wide-flange beams, beam blanks, and H-piling and sheet piling structural steel products; bar steel products, such as blooms, billets, concrete reinforcing and merchant bars, and engineered special bar quality products; and engages in the steel trading and rebar distribution businesses.