Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Price Target Lowered to $280.00 at Bank of America

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its target price reduced by equities researchers at Bank of America from $290.00 to $280.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 23.44% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on NUE. Zacks Research lowered shares of Nucor from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. KeyCorp raised shares of Nucor from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $274.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Nucor from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Nucor from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, UBS Group cut Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $224.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.15.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $226.84 on Thursday. Nucor has a 52 week low of $131.32 and a 52 week high of $270.90. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $238.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $198.53. The company has a market cap of $51.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 1.91.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.41. Nucor had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 6.82%.The business had revenue of $9.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. Nucor’s revenue was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 17.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, EVP David A. Sumoski sold 33,068 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.67, for a total transaction of $7,462,455.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 243,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,914,312.13. This represents a 11.96% 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. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,096 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.08, for a total value of $2,282,503.68. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 62,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,213,875.68. This represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 82,378 shares of company stock valued at $18,963,930 in the last quarter. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of Nucor by 745.2% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 83,463 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,614,000 after purchasing an additional 73,588 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Nucor by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,103,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $342,642,000 after purchasing an additional 210,577 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter worth about $1,989,000. Oak Harvest Investment Services bought a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth about $6,329,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Nucor by 123.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 85,474 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,942,000 after buying an additional 47,235 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Nucor

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) is an American steel producer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company is primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of steel and steel products, operating a network of steel mills, recycling facilities and fabrication plants across the United States and North America. Nucor’s operations emphasize electric arc furnace steelmaking using recycled scrap metal, which supports a decentralized, mill-based production model focused on efficiency and flexibility.

Product offerings span a broad range of basic and value?added steel items, including sheet, plate, merchant bar, structural beams, reinforcing bar, tubing, fasteners and fabricated components.