Bank of America Issues Positive Forecast for Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Stock Price

Key Points

• Bank of America has raised its price target for Nucor's stock from $150.00 to $165.00, indicating a potential upside of 16.88% from its current price.
• Nucor is receiving strong analyst support, with eight analysts rating it as a buy and an average target price of $156.80.
• The company's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $2.60, slightly exceeding analyst estimates, with a revenue of $8.46 billion for the quarter.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by investment analysts at Bank of America from $150.00 to $165.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Bank of America's target price points to a potential upside of 16.88% from the company's current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.80.

Nucor Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:NUE traded down $0.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $141.17. 917,990 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,347,666. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.76. Nucor has a 52 week low of $97.59 and a 52 week high of $170.52. The firm's 50 day moving average is $143.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.47 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 4.21% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nucor will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.00, for a total transaction of $1,051,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 92,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,458,134. The trade was a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.90, for a total transaction of $1,449,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 84,080 shares in the company, valued at $12,183,192. The trade was a 10.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,397 shares of company stock worth $6,763,814 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IMA Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Nucor by 51.4% in the 2nd quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. now owns 221 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co boosted its position in Nucor by 53.8% in the 2nd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 240 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Nucor by 73.5% in the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 119 shares during the period. Finally, Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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