Nucor (NYSE:NUE) PT Raised to $195.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its target price boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $180.00 to $195.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on NUE. UBS Group began coverage on Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a buy rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised Nucor from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $192.83.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE:NUE opened at $191.36 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Nucor has a 12-month low of $129.79 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $191.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 1.61.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.33. Nucor had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 13.03%. The firm had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Nucor will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Nucor news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total value of $1,025,035.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,326 shares in the company, valued at $15,902,206.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683 in the last ninety days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 208.0% in the 1st quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in Nucor by 54.1% during the 1st quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 168 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.