Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Given New $125.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its price target cut by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $150.00 to $125.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 2.96% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on NUE. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $165.63.

Nucor Price Performance

Nucor stock opened at $121.41 on Monday. Nucor has a 52-week low of $112.25 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The company has a market cap of $28.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 1.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $138.68 and its 200 day moving average is $146.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.57 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor will post 8.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,499,436. The trade was a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 8,530.1% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,595,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $239,819,000 after acquiring an additional 1,576,695 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Nucor by 29.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,884,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $456,030,000 after purchasing an additional 660,866 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $74,829,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $205,282,000 after buying an additional 358,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.9% in 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 during 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.