Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Price Target Raised to $172.00

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its target price raised by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $165.00 to $172.00 in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on NUE. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America increased their target price on Nucor from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Nucor from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.60.

Nucor Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $136.72 on Monday. Nucor has a 1 year low of $97.59 and a 1 year high of $170.52. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $141.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $129.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company has a market cap of $31.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.68, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.75.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.06. Nucor had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 4.21%.The company had revenue of $8.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. Nucor’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Nucor will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Nucor’s payout ratio is 39.71%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $1,051,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 92,179 shares in the company, valued at $13,458,134. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.90, for a total value of $1,449,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 84,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,183,192. The trade was a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,309 shares of company stock worth $4,553,771 in the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. IMA Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Nucor by 51.4% in the second quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. now owns 221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co lifted its position in Nucor by 53.8% in the second quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 240 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 81.8% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 340 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Spirit of America Management Corp NY acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. 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.