Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Price Target Cut to $150.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its price target cut by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $152.00 to $150.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 18.53% from the stock’s previous close.

NUE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.63.

Nucor Trading Up 3.8 %

Nucor stock opened at $126.55 on Wednesday. Nucor has a 52-week low of $112.25 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 1.60. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $129.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.83.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Nucor will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was 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 represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total transaction of $1,860,210.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. This represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,680 shares of company stock worth $3,452,524 over the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

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.