Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Price Target Raised to $135.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its price objective boosted by Jefferies Financial Group from $125.00 to $135.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a hold rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

NUE has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $168.00 to $152.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.63.

Nucor Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE NUE opened at $126.88 on Wednesday. Nucor has a 52 week low of $112.25 and a 52 week high of $203.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $129.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.83. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $29.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor will post 8.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 21.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,636,254.72. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total transaction of $1,860,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,452,524. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its holdings in Nucor by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 9,013 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares in the last quarter. Howard Bailey Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at about $842,000. Park Capital Management LLC WI purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth about $202,000. Grace & White Inc. NY raised its position in shares of Nucor by 12.0% during the 4th quarter. Grace & White Inc. NY now owns 122,339 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $14,278,000 after purchasing an additional 13,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stiles Financial Services Inc lifted its stake in Nucor by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 4,376 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 721 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Nucor

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.