JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Stock Price

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its target price dropped by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $168.00 to $152.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 22.19% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on NUE. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Nucor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.63.

Nucor Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NUE opened at $124.40 on Friday. Nucor has a 1-year low of $112.25 and a 1-year high of $203.00. The company has a market capitalization of $29.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $133.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.48.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm’s revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.57 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,923,837.96. This represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total value of $1,860,210.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Widmann Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Nucor by 4.0% in the third quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Nucor by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 45.6% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in Nucor by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $822,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP boosted its stake in Nucor by 1.5% during the third quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 5,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $789,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.