JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Price Target to $150.00

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its price target lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $152.00 to $150.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on NUE. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.63.

Nucor Price Performance

Nucor stock opened at $126.88 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $29.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $129.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.83. Nucor has a 12 month low of $112.25 and a 12 month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.16 EPS. Analysts expect that Nucor will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.26%.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total value of $1,860,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,109,918.96. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,452,524. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,724,117,000 after buying an additional 326,181 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Nucor by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 652,502 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $98,097,000 after acquiring an additional 20,258 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $565,000. BIP Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $681,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Nucor by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,861,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $883,732,000 after purchasing an additional 74,569 shares during the last quarter. 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.