Morgan Stanley Cuts Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Price Target to $166.00

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its target price decreased by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $166.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 17.45% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on 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 target on shares of Nucor from $174.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.57.

Nucor Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE NUE opened at $141.34 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $147.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.39. Nucor has a 12 month low of $133.42 and a 12 month 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 1.85. The company has a market capitalization of $33.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 1.55.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.57 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Nucor will post 9.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $1,379,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,049 shares in the company, valued at $15,847,840. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Insight Folios Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 43,689 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,568,000 after buying an additional 3,346 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its holdings in Nucor by 45.6% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Custom Index Systems LLC boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 98.6% during the 3rd quarter. Custom Index Systems LLC now owns 4,310 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 2,140 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 130,143 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $19,317,000 after purchasing an additional 13,068 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 61,023 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,174,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

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.