Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor (NYSE:NUE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on NUE. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.13.

Nucor Trading Down 3.2 %

Nucor stock opened at $133.63 on Wednesday. Nucor has a one year low of $112.25 and a one year high of $203.00. The company has a market capitalization of $31.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 1.60. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $125.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $140.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Nucor will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the third quarter worth about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 45.6% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. 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.