Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Price Target Lowered to $166.00 at Morgan Stanley

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $166.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target points to a potential upside of 14.09% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Argus raised shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $174.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned 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 $190.86.

Nucor Price Performance

NYSE NUE opened at $145.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 2.93. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $147.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.52. Nucor has a 52-week low of $133.42 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The company has a market cap of $34.89 billion, a PE ratio of 8.56 and a beta of 1.55.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its 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 10.45% and a return on equity of 15.69%. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.57 earnings per share. Nucor’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $1,379,840.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 99,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,847,840. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Nucor by 188.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 64,537 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,232,000 after purchasing an additional 42,178 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in shares of Nucor by 19.4% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,325 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the period. Jessup Wealth Management Inc grew its position in shares of Nucor by 4.7% in the first quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 16,928 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,350,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Nucor by 7.2% in the first quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 16,400 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the first quarter valued at about $7,335,000. 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.