Analysts Set Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) PT at $164.44

Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $164.44.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on NUE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com raised Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 price target on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th.

Nucor Stock Down 1.2 %

NUE opened at $120.43 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a market cap of $27.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.32, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. Nucor has a one year low of $112.25 and a one year high of $203.00. The business’s fifty day moving average is $130.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.12.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.16 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.16%.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Nucor by 60.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.