Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $179.3636.

NUE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on Nucor from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Friday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Nucor from $182.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 29th.

Nucor Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $179.91 on Tuesday. Nucor has a 52-week low of $97.59 and a 52-week high of $196.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.94. The stock has a market cap of $41.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $174.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.42.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.18). Nucor had a return on equity of 8.26% and a net margin of 5.37%.The firm had revenue of $7.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.71%.

Nucor announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to repurchase up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 3,881 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total transaction of $690,818.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 88,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,717,044. This trade represents a 4.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 7,452 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.02, for a total transaction of $1,460,741.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 76,628 shares in the company, valued at $15,020,620.56. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 34,351 shares of company stock valued at $6,206,158 over the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cambient Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $334,000. Kinloch Capital LLC grew its stake in Nucor by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Kinloch Capital LLC now owns 23,058 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,761,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Compound Planning Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 4,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,803 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,599,000 after buying an additional 1,442 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Nucor News

Here are the key news stories impacting Nucor this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board authorizes $4.0 billion share repurchase (up to ~9.7% of shares), signalling management believes shares are undervalued and should boost EPS/return of capital; supportive for the stock. RTT News: Stock Buybacks
• Positive Sentiment: Declared regular quarterly dividend of $0.56 (212th consecutive quarterly payout); payable May 11 to shareholders of record Mar 31. Dividend continuity reduces investor uncertainty and underscores free-cash-flow discipline (annualized yield ~1.2%). PR Newswire: Dividend & Repurchase Program
• Neutral Sentiment: Promotion of John L. “Jack” Sullivan to CFO, Treasurer & EVP — internal hire (Treasurer) that preserves continuity in finance leadership; reduces execution risk vs. an external hire but market impact depends on investors’ view of his track record. PR Newswire: CFO Promotion
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage piece on analyst sentiment — some Wall Street commentary is bullish, but investors should weigh recent fundamentals (Nucor missed EPS and revenue in its Jan quarter) against the new buyback/dividend actions. Yahoo Finance: Analyst Coverage

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.