Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Stock

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $176.00 to $184.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 2.40% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on NUE. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Nucor from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group lowered Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $183.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on Nucor from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Nucor from $182.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.36.

Nucor Stock Up 3.8%

NUE opened at $179.70 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.83, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $165.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $150.37. Nucor has a fifty-two week low of $97.59 and a fifty-two week high of $183.32.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.18). Nucor had a return on equity of 8.26% and a net margin of 5.37%.The business had revenue of $7.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.22 earnings per share. Nucor’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP John J. Hollatz sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $1,049,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 96,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,470,914. This trade represents a 6.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 5,950 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.89, for a total value of $939,445.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 67,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,690,889.79. This represents a 8.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,950 shares of company stock worth $2,319,166. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new position in Nucor in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $856,792,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at $479,858,000. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the second quarter worth $123,145,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the second quarter worth $105,435,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 580.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 653,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $84,699,000 after acquiring an additional 557,819 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Nucor

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) is an American steel producer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company is primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of steel and steel products, operating a network of steel mills, recycling facilities and fabrication plants across the United States and North America. Nucor’s operations emphasize electric arc furnace steelmaking using recycled scrap metal, which supports a decentralized, mill-based production model focused on efficiency and flexibility.

Product offerings span a broad range of basic and value‑added steel items, including sheet, plate, merchant bar, structural beams, reinforcing bar, tubing, fasteners and fabricated components.