Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Stock Rating Upgraded by UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Nucor (NYSE:NUE) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $160.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $156.00.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on NUE. Argus set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com raised Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.78.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE stock opened at $127.18 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $130.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market cap of $29.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.12, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. Nucor has a fifty-two week low of $112.25 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share 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 prior year, the firm posted $3.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NUE. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,724,117,000 after purchasing an additional 326,181 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth about $565,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Nucor by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,861,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $883,732,000 after buying an additional 74,569 shares in the last quarter. InvesTrust acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,388,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 15.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 249,984 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,583,000 after acquiring an additional 34,149 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

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.