Jefferies Financial Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Stock

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $200.00 to $225.00 in a research note issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 20.85% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on NUE. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $184.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $194.00 to $197.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Nucor from $190.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.80.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $186.19 on Friday. Nucor has a 1-year low of $105.92 and a 1-year high of $196.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.38 billion, a PE ratio of 24.69, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.73. The business’s 50 day moving average is $175.36 and its 200-day moving average is $162.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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

Nucor declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to repurchase up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 7,568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.50, for a total value of $1,426,568.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 67,711 shares in the company, valued at $12,763,523.50. The trade was a 10.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 7,452 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.02, for a total transaction of $1,460,741.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 76,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,020,620.56. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 26,401 shares of company stock worth $4,936,152 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,528,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 15,814.3% during the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 3,342 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $452,000 after acquiring an additional 3,321 shares during the period. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at $1,085,000. Peterson Wealth Services lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 587,032.0% during the third quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 146,783 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $19,879,000 after acquiring an additional 146,758 shares during the period. Finally, Covea Finance lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 75.4% during the third quarter. Covea Finance now owns 94,200 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $12,758,000 after acquiring an additional 40,500 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Nucor

Here are the key news stories impacting Nucor this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target on Nucor to $225 (from $200) and reiterated a Buy rating — signaling roughly 20% upside from recent levels and likely supporting bullish investor flows. Jefferies price-target raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Nucor reiterated first-quarter 2026 EPS guidance of $2.70–$2.80 versus a consensus of $2.76 — essentially in line but leaving little margin for upside relative to expectations. This keeps near-term results tightly scrutinized by the market.
• Neutral Sentiment: Media/features: A Motley Fool article highlights Nucor’s investment case and long-term strengths (management, cash flow, steel market exposure). These pieces can support longer-term interest but are less likely to move the stock intraday. Fool feature
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate press release from a small Calgary energy company using the ticker NUE (NU E Power Corp.) is unrelated to Nucor but can cause ticker-search noise; investors should confirm NYSE:NUE references. NU E Power website launch
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research issued multiple estimate revisions: it trimmed several near-term quarterly EPS forecasts (Q1 2026, Q1 2027, Q3 2026/Q3 2027 and FY2027) while raising FY2026 and FY2028 projections and lifting Q4 2026 — an overall mixed-but-tilted-downward revision for FY2027. The net effect increases uncertainty on multi-quarter demand and near-term earnings, which could cap upside despite the price-target lift.

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.