Brokerages Set Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) Target Price at $240.00

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $243.80.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on NUE shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Nucor from $180.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. UBS Group cut Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $224.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Nucor from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Nucor from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $227.49 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $184.10 and a 200 day moving average of $171.28. Nucor has a 12 month low of $106.21 and a 12 month high of $235.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 1.55.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.41. Nucor had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 6.82%.The company had revenue of $9.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. Nucor’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor will post 13.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. Nucor’s payout ratio is presently 22.18%.

Nucor announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to reacquire up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,096 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.08, for a total transaction of $2,282,503.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 62,871 shares in the company, valued at $14,213,875.68. The trade was a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 12,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.00, for a total value of $2,912,688.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 89,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,277,624. The trade was a 12.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 76,770 shares of company stock valued at $17,132,834 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth approximately $609,002,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Nucor by 580.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 653,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $84,699,000 after buying an additional 557,819 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in Nucor by 20.1% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,042,761 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $412,081,000 after buying an additional 509,019 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its position in Nucor by 169.0% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 779,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $127,216,000 after buying an additional 489,950 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Nucor by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,780,423 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $290,405,000 after buying an additional 383,952 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

About Nucor

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) is an American steel producer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company is primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of steel and steel products, operating a network of steel mills, recycling facilities and fabrication plants across the United States and North America. Nucor’s operations emphasize electric arc furnace steelmaking using recycled scrap metal, which supports a decentralized, mill-based production model focused on efficiency and flexibility.

Product offerings span a broad range of basic and value‑added steel items, including sheet, plate, merchant bar, structural beams, reinforcing bar, tubing, fasteners and fabricated components.