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

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its target price lowered by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $152.00 to $150.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 18.53% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.63.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE:NUE opened at $126.55 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23 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. Nucor has a 1 year low of $112.25 and a 1 year high of $203.00. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $142.83.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.16 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 8.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total value of $1,860,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at $29,109,918.96. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,680 shares of company stock worth $3,452,524 over the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Widmann Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Nucor by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 45.6% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in shares of Nucor by 1.4% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $822,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 1.5% during the third quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 5,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $789,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its position in Nucor by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $696,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

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.