Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Hits New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $111.81 and last traded at $112.46, with a volume of 1262235 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $123.03.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on NUE shares. UBS Group raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Argus set a $155.00 price target on Nucor in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 target price on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, March 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.44.

Nucor Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $25.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.16 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 26.16%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Nucor by 60.3% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.