Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Price Target Raised to $135.00

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its target price upped by Jefferies Financial Group from $125.00 to $135.00 in a report released 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 research reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $168.00 to $152.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced 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. Four equities research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.63.

Nucor Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NUE opened at $128.39 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.27 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $142.62.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.16 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 20,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,452,524. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NUE. Widmann Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in Nucor by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 45.6% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 1.4% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $822,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Mirador Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 1.5% during the third quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 5,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $789,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in Nucor by 1.7% during the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

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.