Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Hits New 1-Year Low at $137.86

Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $137.86 and last traded at $138.00, with a volume of 5566 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $139.61.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on NUE shares. Bank of America decreased their target price on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 17th. Argus raised shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Nucor from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $187.00 to $176.00 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.00.

Nucor Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $33.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.27 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a 50-day moving average of $150.92 and a 200-day moving average of $168.09. The company has a current ratio of 2.93, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.37. Nucor had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 10.45%. The firm had revenue of $8.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.81 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 9.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $1,379,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 99,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,847,840. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at about $377,631,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 29.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,884,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $456,030,000 after purchasing an additional 660,866 shares in the last quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 1st quarter valued at about $90,216,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,395,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 23.5% during the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 804,150 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $159,141,000 after purchasing an additional 153,077 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

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.