Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Given Hold (C) Rating at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Nucor's stock has received a "hold (C)" rating from Weiss Ratings, while other analysts have rated it with an average of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $156.60.
• The company's stock recently traded at $140.22, showing a 4.7% revenue increase compared to the previous year with a reported EPS of $2.60 for the last quarter.
• Significant insider activity has been noted with executives selling shares, including 8,021 shares sold by EVP Allen C. Behr at an average price of $143.38.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c)" rating restated by equities research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on NUE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $182.00 to $173.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.60.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of Nucor stock traded up $2.38 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $140.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 126,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,301,656. The stock has a market cap of $32.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.75. Nucor has a one year low of $97.59 and a one year high of $170.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $141.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $129.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.06. The company 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 firm's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.68 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 8,021 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.38, for a total value of $1,150,050.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 82,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,857,956.14. The trade was a 8.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 6,088 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.41, for a total transaction of $903,520.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 22,464 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,333,882.24. The trade was a 21.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,309 shares of company stock valued at $4,553,771. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FCG Investment Co grew its position in shares of Nucor by 284.8% during the third quarter. FCG Investment Co now owns 9,921 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,344,000 after acquiring an additional 7,343 shares during the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth about $425,000. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Nucor by 3.4% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 58,298 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $7,895,000 after acquiring an additional 1,895 shares during the last quarter. Lbmc Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth about $298,000. Finally, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth about $275,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Nucor

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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