Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Price Target Raised to $304.00

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its price target hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $296.00 to $304.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $306.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Freedom Broker downgraded Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Zacks Research raised Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 20th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $284.00.

Nucor Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NUE stock opened at $273.47 on Wednesday. Nucor has a fifty-two week low of $140.93 and a fifty-two week high of $280.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $253.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $223.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.46. The company has a market cap of $62.04 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.84.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 26th. The basic materials company reported $5.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.84 by ($0.04). Nucor had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 9.26%. The company had revenue of $11.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.84 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.63 earnings per share. Nucor’s revenue for the quarter was up 32.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Nucor will post 19.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other news, EVP Noah C. Hanners sold 5,190 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.03, for a total transaction of $1,427,405.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,073 shares in the company, valued at $12,121,397.19. This trade represents a 10.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas J. Batterbee sold 4,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.02, for a total transaction of $1,044,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 16,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,212,340.76. This represents a 19.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

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

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.