Jefferies Financial Group Has Lowered Expectations for Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Stock Price

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its target price dropped by Jefferies Financial Group from $150.00 to $125.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 8.27% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.63.

Nucor Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $115.45 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $27.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $139.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.84. Nucor has a 1 year low of $112.25 and a 1 year high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.57 EPS. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,499,436. This represents a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NUE. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Nucor by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,724,117,000 after purchasing an additional 326,181 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,861,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $883,732,000 after buying an additional 74,569 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Nucor by 2.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,909,388 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $617,915,000 after buying an additional 84,558 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 19.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,456,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $519,648,000 after buying an additional 571,682 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Nucor by 3.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,160,803 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $341,580,000 after acquiring an additional 67,974 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.