Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Price Target Cut to $190.00

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its target price cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $195.00 to $190.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

NUE has been the topic of a number of other reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nucor from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a buy rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Nucor from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $193.14.

Nucor Stock Performance

NUE opened at $175.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 1.61. Nucor has a twelve month low of $129.79 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $190.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.45. The company has a current ratio of 4.02, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 12.40%. The firm had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.45 earnings per share. Nucor’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Nucor will post 12.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total value of $1,025,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,902,206.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,151 shares of company stock valued at $7,308,683. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $377,631,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $108,747,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the first quarter valued at approximately $90,216,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Nucor by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,070,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $360,430,000 after acquiring an additional 237,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Nucor by 7.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,262,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $353,794,000 after acquiring an additional 159,230 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Nucor

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.