Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Stock Price

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its target price trimmed by Morgan Stanley from $166.00 to $154.00 in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on NUE. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.13.

Nucor Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NUE opened at $133.33 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor has a one year low of $112.25 and a one year high of $203.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $127.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $141.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Nucor will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.16%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,724,117,000 after buying an additional 326,181 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Nucor by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,861,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $883,732,000 after purchasing an additional 74,569 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Nucor by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,456,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $519,648,000 after purchasing an additional 571,682 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Nucor by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $205,282,000 after purchasing an additional 358,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Nucor by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,679,176 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $195,977,000 after purchasing an additional 104,238 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Company Profile

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.