Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Given New $195.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $180.00 to $195.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 2.51% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on NUE. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.83.

Nucor Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NUE stock traded down $3.78 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $190.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 125,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,368,729. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $190.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $172.81. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 3.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $45.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 1.61. Nucor has a one year low of $129.79 and a one year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The basic materials company reported $3.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.64 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.89 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total transaction of $3,772,655.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at $23,351,936.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the first quarter valued at $119,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in Nucor in the first quarter worth about $7,335,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Nucor by 7.2% in the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 16,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc boosted its position in Nucor by 4.7% in the first quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 16,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,350,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management boosted its position in Nucor by 19.4% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,325 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. 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.