BMO Capital Markets Trims Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Target Price to $200.00

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its price objective reduced by BMO Capital Markets from $210.00 to $200.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

NUE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Nucor from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup upgraded shares of Nucor from a neutral rating to a buy rating and lifted their target price for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a buy rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $193.14.

Nucor Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $175.36 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $190.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.08 billion, a PE ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 1.61. Nucor has a 1-year low of $129.79 and a 1-year high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 4.02 and a quick ratio of 2.35.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 12.40%. The company’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total value of $1,901,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,386,751.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $3,772,655.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total transaction of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at $15,386,751.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,175,571 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $652,851,000 after buying an additional 149,589 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,262,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $353,794,000 after buying an additional 159,230 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth about $377,631,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,070,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $360,430,000 after purchasing an additional 237,752 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,499,893 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $261,041,000 after purchasing an additional 36,304 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.