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

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its target price trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $195.00 to $190.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on NUE. StockNews.com lowered Nucor from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised Nucor from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $193.14.

Nucor Stock Performance

NUE opened at $175.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $42.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 1.61. Nucor has a 52-week low of $129.79 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 4.02. The business’s fifty day moving average is $190.62 and its 200-day moving average is $174.32.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 12.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.45 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Nucor will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.71%.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $3,772,655.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total value of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at $15,386,751.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $3,772,655.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 120,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,351,936.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,151 shares of company stock valued at $7,308,683 over the last ninety days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Nucor by 208.0% during the first quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 54.1% during the first quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 168 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of Nucor by 716.7% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.