Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Price Target Cut to $170.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its target price cut by Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $170.00 in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on NUE. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 17th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Nucor from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and lifted their target price for the company from $170.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Argus raised 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $192.00.

Nucor Price Performance

NYSE NUE opened at $143.00 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $150.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $166.56. The company has a current ratio of 2.93, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $34.29 billion, a PE ratio of 8.41 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor has a 1 year low of $133.42 and a 1 year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $8.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.69 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 10.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.81 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Nucor will post 9.95 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Nucor’s payout ratio is 12.71%.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $1,379,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 99,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,847,840. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CX Institutional boosted its position in Nucor by 52.8% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 17,245 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,726,000 after purchasing an additional 5,960 shares during the period. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Nucor by 94.2% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,855 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Nucor by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 262,385 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,665,000 after purchasing an additional 15,058 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in Nucor during the first quarter worth approximately $1,847,000. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. boosted its position in Nucor by 86.2% during the first quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 12,895 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,552,000 after purchasing an additional 5,971 shares during the period. 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.