Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on NUE. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Nucor from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wall Street Zen lowered Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.78.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $145.49 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.40 billion, a PE ratio of 26.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $135.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $126.91. Nucor has a 12 month low of $97.59 and a 12 month high of $170.52.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.47 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 4.21%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nucor will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 8,021 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.38, for a total transaction of $1,150,050.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 82,703 shares in the company, valued at $11,857,956.14. This trade represents a 8.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,088 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.87, for a total value of $906,342.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 99,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,707,592.73. The trade was a 6.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 25,109 shares of company stock worth $3,360,094 in the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,462 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 3,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 51.4% in the 2nd quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. now owns 221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Nucor by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $531,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its stake in Nucor by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,326 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $560,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

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.