Citigroup Cuts Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Price Target to $160.00

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its price target cut by Citigroup from $240.00 to $160.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.75.

Nucor Trading Up 0.7 %

NUE opened at $116.58 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $145.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $149.76. The firm has a market cap of $27.37 billion, a PE ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor has a twelve month low of $113.94 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.57 EPS. Nucor’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 8.48 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.89%. Nucor’s payout ratio is 21.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total transaction of $1,860,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at $29,109,918.96. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,499,436. This trade represents a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Widmann Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Nucor by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,457 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $546,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 3.3% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 45.6% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 1.4% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $822,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. 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.