Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Price Target Cut to $160.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its price target lowered by BMO Capital Markets from $175.00 to $160.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $176.00 to $170.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Argus raised shares of Nucor to a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Nucor from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and increased their price target for the company from $170.00 to $174.00 in a report on Monday, September 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $192.00.

Nucor Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of NUE stock opened at $146.31 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 2.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $149.66 and its 200-day moving average is $166.15. The stock has a market cap of $35.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor has a 52-week low of $133.42 and a 52-week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $8.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.69 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 15.69%. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Nucor will post 9.95 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 12.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $1,379,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 99,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,847,840. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 865 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 54.1% during the first quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 168 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 4.1% during the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,630 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 94.2% during the first quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 2,141 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 70 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.