Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Given New $152.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its price target decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $168.00 to $152.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on NUE. Citigroup dropped their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.63.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE stock opened at $124.40 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $133.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.57. The company has a market capitalization of $29.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00. 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 (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.57 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 8.19 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. This represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $29,109,918.96. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Widmann Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Nucor by 4.0% during the third quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during the 3rd 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 period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 1.4% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP grew its holdings in Nucor by 1.5% in the third quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 5,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $789,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. 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.