Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

by · The Cerbat Gem

Shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE – Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $167.80 and last traded at $167.3690, with a volume of 191021 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.33.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Nucor from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $147.00 to $167.00 in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Citigroup increased their target price on Nucor from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $171.70.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on NUE

Nucor Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.77. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $147.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.78. The company has a market cap of $38.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.54, a PEG ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.85.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $8.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.27 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 7.80% and a net margin of 5.18%.Nucor’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.49 earnings per share. Nucor has set its Q4 2025 guidance at -2.630 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.56 dividend. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 2,003 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.57, for a total transaction of $303,594.71. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,174 shares in the company, valued at $13,364,533.18. The trade was a 2.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 9,042 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $1,367,873.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 73,661 shares in the company, valued at $11,143,436.08. This represents a 10.93% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,045 shares of company stock worth $2,720,628. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at about $856,792,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Nucor in the second quarter valued at approximately $479,858,000. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the second quarter valued at approximately $123,145,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the second quarter worth approximately $105,435,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 580.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 653,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $84,699,000 after purchasing an additional 557,819 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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