Nucor (NYSE:NUE) PT Lowered to $160.00 at BMO Capital Markets

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

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Nucor from $176.00 to $170.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Argus raised shares of Nucor to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Nucor from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Three equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $192.00.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $146.31 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $35.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.61 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor has a fifty-two week low of $133.42 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $149.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $166.02.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $8.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 10.45%. The company’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.81 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Nucor will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.71%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $1,379,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,847,840. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,909,388 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $617,915,000 after purchasing an additional 84,558 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Nucor by 29.7% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,884,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $456,030,000 after buying an additional 660,866 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Nucor by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,160,803 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $341,580,000 after buying an additional 67,974 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Nucor by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,367,209 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $237,949,000 after buying an additional 85,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,165,094 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $230,572,000 after acquiring an additional 70,917 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.