Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on NUE. Citigroup lowered their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.13.

Nucor Trading Up 1.5 %

NUE stock opened at $135.61 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $31.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $140.66. Nucor has a 52 week low of $112.25 and a 52 week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.16 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Nucor will post 7.88 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 2.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,724,117,000 after purchasing an additional 326,181 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,967,254 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $701,255,000 after purchasing an additional 105,309 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 19.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,456,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $519,648,000 after purchasing an additional 571,682 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth about $398,077,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,435,265 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $284,220,000 after purchasing an additional 384,205 shares during 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.