Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Stock Rating Cut to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Nucor from “strong buy” to “buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with 13 buy ratings and 4 holds and an average price target of $276.07.
• Nucor reported quarterly EPS of $4.84, exceeding estimates of $4.46, while revenue rose 23% year over year to $10.40 billion.
• The stock opened at $247.37, with a market capitalization of $56.12 billion; institutional investors own 76.48% of shares, while two executives recently sold portions of their holdings.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on NUE. Seaport Research Partners lifted their price objective on Nucor from $245.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Nucor from $294.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $270.00 price target on Nucor in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Nucor from $285.00 to $280.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on Nucor from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $276.07.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $247.37 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.73, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.51. Nucor has a 1 year low of $131.32 and a 1 year high of $280.11. The company's fifty day moving average is $256.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $229.31.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $4.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.46 by $0.38. Nucor had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 12.73%. The company had revenue of $10.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. The business's revenue was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nucor will post 18.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, COO Stephen Laxton sold 3,968 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.96, for a total value of $1,019,617.28. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 77,867 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,008,704.32. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas Batterbee sold 4,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.02, for a total value of $1,044,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,212,340.76. This trade represents a 19.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NUE. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in Nucor by 19.3% in the first quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 510,331 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $86,297,000 after purchasing an additional 82,668 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Nucor in the second quarter valued at about $7,954,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in Nucor by 31.2% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 61,952 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $13,800,000 after buying an additional 14,736 shares in the last quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $23,804,000. Finally, BIP Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor during the second quarter valued at approximately $852,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

About Nucor

Nucor Corporation is a Charlotte, North Carolina-based steel and steel products company. It manufactures carbon, alloy and stainless steel products, including sheet, plate, bar, structural steel, rail, wire rod, rebar and merchant bar. The company also produces steel joists, deck, beams, piling, wire products, fasteners, grating, metal building systems and other fabricated steel products.

Nucor operates an integrated network of electric arc furnace steel mills, recycling facilities and downstream manufacturing operations.

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