JPMorgan Chase & Co. Has Lowered Expectations for Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Stock Price

Key Points

• JPMorgan lowered its Nucor price target from $308 to $296 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying approximately 18.28% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: 13 analysts rate Nucor a Buy and four rate it a Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $276.07.
• Nucor reported quarterly EPS of $4.84, beating expectations of $4.46, while revenue rose 23% year over year to $10.40 billion. The stock closed at $250.25, with institutional investors owning 76.48% of shares.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $308.00 to $296.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the basic materials company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price target would indicate a potential upside of 18.28% from the company's previous close.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on NUE. UBS Group upped their price target on Nucor from $224.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Nucor from $288.00 to $286.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Bank of America cut their price target on Nucor from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Zacks Research lowered Nucor from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Freedom Broker cut Nucor from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $305.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $276.07.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE stock traded up $4.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $250.25. 727,752 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,553,279. Nucor has a one year low of $131.32 and a one year high of $280.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $255.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $234.72. The company has a market cap of $56.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.84.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $4.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.46 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $10.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.15 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 7.99%.The firm's revenue was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Nucor will post 18.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Thomas J. Batterbee sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.02, for a total value of $1,044,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,212,340.76. The trade was a 19.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Stephen D. Laxton sold 3,968 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.96, for a total transaction of $1,019,617.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 77,867 shares in the company, valued at $20,008,704.32. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nucor during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Markowski Investments bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Company Profile

Nucor Corporation is a Charlotte, North Carolina-based steel producer and one of the largest steel companies in North America. The company operates electric arc furnace (EAF) steel mills that use recycled scrap steel as a primary raw material, along with facilities that manufacture and process steel products for construction, manufacturing, transportation, energy and other industrial markets.

Nucor's product portfolio includes carbon and alloy steel in sheet, plate, bar and structural forms, as well as reinforcing steel, wire and wire mesh.

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