Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Nucor (NYSE:NUE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

NUE has been the subject of several other reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Nucor from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Seaport Research Partners lifted their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group cut shares of Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $183.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Nucor from $184.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.90.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE opened at $169.18 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $38.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.83. Nucor has a 12 month low of $97.59 and a 12 month high of $196.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $176.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.04.

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

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.71%.

Nucor declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to reacquire up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 7,568 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.50, for a total value of $1,426,568.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 67,711 shares in the company, valued at $12,763,523.50. This represents a 10.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $690,818.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 88,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,717,044. The trade was a 4.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 34,351 shares of company stock worth $6,206,158 over the last ninety days. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 2nd quarter worth about $856,792,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $609,002,000. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at about $123,145,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new position in Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at about $105,435,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 580.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 653,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $84,699,000 after acquiring an additional 557,819 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Company Profile

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.