Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Price Target Cut to $175.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its target price reduced by BMO Capital Markets from $185.00 to $175.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a market perform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Nucor from $190.00 to $180.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Nucor from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com downgraded Nucor from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, May 20th. They set a hold rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $188.38.

Nucor Trading Up 0.8 %

Nucor stock opened at $156.80 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $170.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 4.02 and a quick ratio of 2.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.59 billion, a PE ratio of 9.22 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor has a 12-month low of $140.07 and a 12-month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.45 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Nucor will post 11.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 28th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,481,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Nucor by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 262,385 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,665,000 after purchasing an additional 15,058 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd increased its holdings in Nucor by 53.2% during the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 13,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,302,000 after buying an additional 4,592 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,230,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Nucor by 94.2% in the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,855 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.