JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Price Target to $168.00

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $170.00 to $168.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the basic materials company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price indicates a potential upside of 18.59% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America reduced their price target on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Argus upgraded Nucor to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $190.57.

Nucor Stock Down 3.0 %

NYSE:NUE traded down $4.36 on Wednesday, hitting $141.66. 2,783,447 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,496,199. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $147.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $159.39. Nucor has a 52 week low of $133.42 and a 52 week high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.93 and a quick ratio of 1.85. The company has a market cap of $33.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.33 and a beta of 1.55.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 10.45%. Nucor's revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.57 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Nucor will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $1,379,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 99,049 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,847,840. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,909,388 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $617,915,000 after purchasing an additional 84,558 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Nucor by 29.7% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,884,802 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $456,030,000 after buying an additional 660,866 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Nucor by 3.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,160,803 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $341,580,000 after acquiring an additional 67,974 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Nucor by 6.5% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,165,094 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $230,572,000 after acquiring an additional 70,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,069,920 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $169,433,000 after purchasing an additional 111,177 shares in the last quarter. 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.