Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Price Target to $125.00

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its target price decreased by Jefferies Financial Group from $150.00 to $125.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on NUE. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.63.

Nucor Trading Down 2.6 %

NUE opened at $118.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $137.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.13. Nucor has a one year low of $112.25 and a one year high of $203.00. The stock has a market cap of $27.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for 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%. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.57 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Nucor will post 8.48 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.55 dividend. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,499,436. This represents a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total transaction of $1,860,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 in the last ninety days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in Nucor during the third quarter valued at $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in Nucor in the third quarter valued at $30,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Nucor by 769.2% during the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

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.