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

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its target price raised by UBS Group from $183.00 to $184.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 13.04% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on NUE. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $180.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Nucor from $182.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $188.00.

Nucor Price Performance

NYSE NUE traded down $0.70 during trading on Monday, hitting $162.78. 689,691 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,757,265. The company has a market capitalization of $37.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.83. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $177.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Nucor has a 12-month low of $97.59 and a 12-month high of $196.90.

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

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Thomas J. Batterbee sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.28, for a total value of $330,560.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,967,106.56. This represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 3,881 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $690,818.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 88,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,717,044. This represents a 4.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,351 shares of company stock worth $6,206,158. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stance Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Nucor Company Profile

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.