JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Price Target to $195.00

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its price target upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $180.00 to $195.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Nucor from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup upgraded Nucor from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a buy rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $192.83.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE:NUE opened at $192.12 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $46.10 billion, a PE ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $190.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 3.57. Nucor has a fifty-two week low of $129.79 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.64 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.89 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.01%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total transaction of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,386,751.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total value of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 80,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,386,751.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nucor in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its position in Nucor by 208.0% in the 1st quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in Nucor by 54.1% in the 1st quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 168 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 59 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.