Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Nucor (NYSE:NUE) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on NUE. Argus set a $155.00 target price on Nucor in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $156.00 to $160.00 in a report on Monday, March 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.11.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NUE stock opened at $115.47 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Nucor has a 12 month low of $97.59 and a 12 month high of $199.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $128.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.11.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s payout ratio is 26.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of NUE. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 13.0% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 34,398 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,170,000 after buying an additional 3,963 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in Nucor by 68.3% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 15,128 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,274,000 after acquiring an additional 6,141 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Nucor by 15.8% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 249,984 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,583,000 after purchasing an additional 34,149 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Nucor by 82.5% during the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,523 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $680,000 after buying an additional 2,045 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 315.8% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 296,851 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,629,000 after acquiring an additional 225,450 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.