Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Nucor (NYSE:NUE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $170.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $135.00.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on NUE. Wall Street Zen downgraded Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.13.

Nucor Stock Up 0.1%

Nucor stock opened at $143.09 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.02 billion, a PE ratio of 25.83, a PEG ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.70. Nucor has a 12-month low of $97.59 and a 12-month high of $170.52. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $130.02 and its 200 day moving average is $125.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $8.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.47 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 4.21% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The business’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.71%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In related news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,088 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.87, for a total transaction of $906,342.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 99,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,707,592.73. The trade was a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.37, for a total transaction of $1,303,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 94,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,265,209.60. This trade represents a 9.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. RFG Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Nucor by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,462 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $319,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC grew its position in Nucor by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 3,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co increased its holdings in Nucor by 53.8% during the second quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 240 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Nucor by 2.6% in the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,512 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its position in Nucor by 2.2% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $511,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by 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.