Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.55

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, June 10th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.55 per share by the basic materials company on Monday, August 11th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%.

Nucor has a dividend payout ratio of 20.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Nucor to earn $10.99 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.0%.

Nucor Stock Down 5.5%

NYSE NUE traded down $6.85 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $117.84. 411,765 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,186,837. Nucor has a 1 year low of $97.59 and a 1 year high of $170.52. 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 stock has a market cap of $27.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $114.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.31.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.15). Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The firm had revenue of $7.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NUE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Nucor from $156.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Argus set a $155.00 price objective on Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised Nucor from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 price target on Nucor in a research report on Monday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.22.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other Nucor news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total value of $4,115,065.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 162,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,590,128.67. The trade was a 17.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NUE. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 81.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 340 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Nucor during the first quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Nucor by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Company Profile

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.