Citigroup Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Stock Price

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its price objective lowered by equities research analysts at Citigroup from $240.00 to $160.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Citigroup’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 37.24% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on NUE. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus upgraded Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.75.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE NUE opened at $116.58 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Nucor has a fifty-two week low of $113.94 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $145.93 and a 200-day moving average of $149.83. The stock has a market cap of $27.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.55.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.57 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Nucor will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at $14,499,436. This trade represents a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 129.0% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.