Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Given New $197.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo raised its price target on Nucor to $197 with an "overweight" rating, implying roughly a 23.3% upside
• Nucor's board approved a $4.00 billion share buyback, authorizing repurchases of up to 9.7% of outstanding shares.
• The company missed quarterly expectations (EPS $1.73 vs. $1.91 expected; revenue $7.69B vs. $7.93B expected), and the stock recently traded down to $159.80, near its 200‑day moving average.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by Wells Fargo & Company from $194.00 to $197.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target points to a potential upside of 23.28% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on NUE. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Nucor from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Seaport Research Partners boosted their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Nucor from $183.00 to $184.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $188.30.

Nucor Stock Down 1.3%

NUE traded down $2.15 on Friday, reaching $159.80. 407,256 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,708,262. The company has a market cap of $36.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.19, a PEG ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $176.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.80. Nucor has a 52-week low of $97.59 and a 52-week high of $196.90.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.18). Nucor had a return on equity of 8.26% and a net margin of 5.37%.The company had revenue of $7.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to reacquire up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 7,568 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.50, for a total transaction of $1,426,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 67,711 shares in the company, valued at $12,763,523.50. This represents a 10.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas J. Batterbee sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.28, for a total value of $330,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 17,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,967,106.56. This represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 28,401 shares of company stock valued at $5,266,712 in the last quarter. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,528,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Nucor by 15,814.3% during the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 3,342 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 3,321 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in Nucor in the third quarter valued at about $1,085,000. Peterson Wealth Services boosted its position in Nucor by 587,032.0% in the third quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 146,783 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $19,879,000 after buying an additional 146,758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covea Finance grew its stake in Nucor by 75.4% during the third quarter. Covea Finance now owns 94,200 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $12,758,000 after buying an additional 40,500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

About Nucor

Nucor Corporation NYSE: NUE is an American steel producer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company is primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of steel and steel products, operating a network of steel mills, recycling facilities and fabrication plants across the United States and North America. Nucor's operations emphasize electric arc furnace steelmaking using recycled scrap metal, which supports a decentralized, mill-based production model focused on efficiency and flexibility.

Product offerings span a broad range of basic and value‑added steel items, including sheet, plate, merchant bar, structural beams, reinforcing bar, tubing, fasteners and fabricated components.

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