Jefferies Financial Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Stock Price

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

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.63.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE stock opened at $121.41 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $138.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.58. The stock has a market cap of $28.51 billion, a PE ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor has a 12 month low of $112.25 and a 12 month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.57 earnings per share. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Nucor will post 8.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,499,436. This trade represents a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Widmann Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Nucor by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 3.3% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in Nucor by 45.6% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its holdings in Nucor by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $822,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in Nucor by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 5,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $789,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.