Morgan Stanley Lowers Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Price Target to $154.00

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its target price dropped by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $166.00 to $154.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 17.76% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.13.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $130.78 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $30.71 billion, a PE ratio of 15.55 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor has a 12 month low of $112.25 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $128.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $141.81.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NUE. State Street Corp raised 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 valued at $1,724,117,000 after buying an additional 326,181 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 652,502 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $98,097,000 after acquiring an additional 20,258 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $565,000. BIP Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at approximately $681,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,861,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $883,732,000 after purchasing an additional 74,569 shares in the last quarter. 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.