Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Price Target Lowered to $160.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its target price reduced by BMO Capital Markets from $175.00 to $160.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

NUE has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Nucor from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $174.00 in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Nucor from $176.00 to $170.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Argus raised Nucor to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $192.00.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE opened at $143.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $150.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $166.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.93 and a quick ratio of 1.85. The firm has a market cap of $34.29 billion, a PE ratio of 8.41 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor has a 1 year low of $133.42 and a 1 year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $8.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 10.45%. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Nucor will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $1,379,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,847,840. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vienna Powszechne Towarzystwo Emerytalne S.A. Vienna Insurance Group now owns 7,511 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,187,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $7,248,000. Ariadne Wealth Management LP bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,359,000. SPC Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 8,897 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,406,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Finally, Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 103.6% during the 2nd quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,619 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,050,000 after acquiring an additional 13,038 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.