Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Given New $146.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company raised Nucor's price target from $145.00 to $146.00, indicating a potential upside of 3.20% from its current price, while maintaining an "equal weight" rating.
• Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Nucor to a "buy" rating and increased their price target to $170.00, reflecting positive sentiment among several analysts who have issued ratings adjustments for the stock.
• Nucor's recent quarterly earnings surpassed expectations, reporting $2.60 EPS against a consensus estimate of $2.54, and revenues increased by 4.7% compared to the previous year.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $145.00 to $146.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target points to a potential upside of 3.20% from the stock's current price.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on NUE. Jefferies Financial Group raised Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $155.89.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $141.47 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.47 billion, a PE ratio of 25.54, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.76. Nucor has a 12 month low of $97.59 and a 12 month high of $170.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $143.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.37.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 4.21%.The firm's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 8,021 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 82,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,857,956.14. The trade was a 8.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.90, for a total transaction of $1,449,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 84,080 shares in the company, valued at $12,183,192. This trade represents a 10.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,397 shares of company stock worth $6,763,814. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Nucor by 0.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,171,068 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,778,820,000 after acquiring an additional 211,741 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 3.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,501,779 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,626,321,000 after purchasing an additional 371,911 shares during the period. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the second quarter valued at about $856,792,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the second quarter valued at about $479,858,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 18.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,309,452 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $277,920,000 after purchasing an additional 355,364 shares during the period. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.