Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Given New $140.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its price target decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $146.00 to $140.00 in a research report report published on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised Nucor from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nucor currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $156.20.

Nucor Stock Down 5.8%

Nucor stock opened at $134.52 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $143.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.83. The company has a market cap of $30.88 billion, a PE ratio of 24.28, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.76. Nucor has a fifty-two week low of $97.59 and a fifty-two week high of $170.52.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $8.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.47 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 4.21%.The company’s revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.68 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.71%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total value of $1,051,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 92,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,458,134. This trade represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 6,088 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.41, for a total transaction of $903,520.08. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,464 shares in the company, valued at $3,333,882.24. The trade was a 21.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,397 shares of company stock worth $6,763,814. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 2nd quarter valued at about $856,792,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Nucor during the second quarter worth about $479,858,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Nucor during the first quarter worth about $194,804,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Nucor in the 1st quarter valued at about $141,216,000. Finally, Greenwich Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at about $123,145,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.