Nucor (NYSE:NUE) PT Lowered to $190.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

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

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Nucor from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their target price for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Nucor from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a buy rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $193.14.

Nucor Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NUE stock opened at $172.76 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $191.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.17. Nucor has a twelve month low of $129.79 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The company has a market capitalization of $41.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 1.61. 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 announced its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The firm had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.45 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Nucor will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total transaction of $1,025,035.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,326 shares in the company, valued at $15,902,206.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nucor in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its stake in Nucor by 208.0% in the first quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its stake in Nucor by 54.1% in 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. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in Nucor by 716.7% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by 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.