UBS Group Reiterates “Neutral” Rating for Nucor (NYSE:NUE)

UBS Group reiterated their neutral rating on shares of Nucor (NYSE:NUE) in a research note released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. UBS Group currently has a $156.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $171.00.

NUE has been the subject of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Argus upgraded Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $183.75.

Nucor Stock Down 5.1 %

NUE stock opened at $131.42 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $150.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.98. The company has a market cap of $30.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.70 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor has a twelve month low of $130.65 and a twelve month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The business’s revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.57 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 8.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,499,436. This trade represents a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Widmann Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Nucor by 4.0% during the third quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 2.1% during the second quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $546,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 3.3% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 45.6% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in Nucor by 1.4% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $822,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. 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.