StockNews.com Upgrades Nucor (NYSE:NUE) to Hold

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 target price on Nucor in a report on Monday, March 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.33.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $110.62 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $125.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.15. Nucor has a one year low of $97.59 and a one year high of $193.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51. The company has a market cap of $25.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.67.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,967,254 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $701,255,000 after buying an additional 105,309 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at about $398,077,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Nucor by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,435,265 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $284,220,000 after buying an additional 384,205 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Nucor by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,404,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $280,627,000 after purchasing an additional 474,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Nucor by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $205,282,000 after purchasing an additional 358,721 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.