Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Nucor (NYSE:NUE – Get Rating) in a research note published on Tuesday morning, The Fly reports. The firm issued an underweight rating and a $130.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock.

NUE has been the subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a report on Friday, January 27th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $145.00 to $140.00 in a report on Friday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $144.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, March 10th. Credit Suisse Group increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $140.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $113.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $148.88.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $136.92 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $145.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $150.57. Nucor has a twelve month low of $100.13 and a twelve month high of $182.68. The company has a quick ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 3.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.40 billion, a PE ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 1.56.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 20th. The basic materials company reported $4.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.81 by $0.64. Nucor had a net margin of 16.73% and a return on equity of 34.91%. The firm had revenue of $8.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.67 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Nucor will post 16.72 EPS for the current year.

Nucor declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 11th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to purchase up to 11.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the first quarter valued at $20,853,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the first quarter valued at $25,000. Delta Asset Management LLC TN bought a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Freedom Wealth Alliance LLC bought a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. 78.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Nucor

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Nucor Corp. engages in the manufacturing of steel and steel products. It operates through the following segments: Steel Mills, Steel Products, and Raw Materials. The Steel Mills segment consists of carbon and alloy steel in sheet, bars, structural and plate, steel trading businesses, rebar distribution businesses, and Nucor’s equity method investments.