JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Price Target to $170.00

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its price objective lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $180.00 to $170.00 in a research note published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on NUE. Bank of America cut their price objective on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, May 20th. They set a hold rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Nucor from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Nucor has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $191.29.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $162.50 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.02, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Nucor has a 1 year low of $140.07 and a 1 year high of $203.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $161.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.06. The firm has a market cap of $38.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.56 and a beta of 1.57.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 12.40%. The firm had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.45 earnings per share. Nucor’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Nucor will post 10.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, June 28th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 94.2% during the 1st quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp increased its stake in Nucor by 208.0% during the first 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.