Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Given New $154.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its price target lowered by Morgan Stanley from $166.00 to $154.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on NUE. Citigroup decreased their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.13.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $131.57 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor has a 52 week low of $112.25 and a 52 week high of $203.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $128.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $142.05.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Nucor will post 7.88 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of Nucor 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 20,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,452,524 in the last three months. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Nucor during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. 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.