BMO Capital Markets Trims Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Target Price to $200.00

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its target price reduced by BMO Capital Markets from $210.00 to $200.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com cut Nucor from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. UBS Group started coverage on Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a buy rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup raised Nucor from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their target price for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $193.14.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $175.42 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $42.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 4.02, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Nucor has a 1-year low of $129.79 and a 1-year high of $203.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $190.62 and its 200 day moving average is $174.45.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 12.40%. Nucor’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.45 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 12.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.71%.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total value of $1,025,035.00. Following the sale, 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 over the last ninety days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. boosted its holdings in Nucor by 7.1% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 1,870 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Nucor in the first quarter worth $50,000. SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Nucor by 283.4% in the first quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 8,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,628,000 after acquiring an additional 6,080 shares in the last quarter. Quantum Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nucor in the first quarter worth $243,000. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Nucor in the first quarter worth $1,456,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by 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.