Weiss Ratings Reiterates "Hold (C)" Rating for Nucor (NYSE:NUE)

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has reaffirmed a "Hold (C)" rating for Nucor (NYSE:NUE), despite mixed reports from other analysts who have issued various ratings and price targets.
• Multiple investment firms have increased their price targets for Nucor, with Jefferies raising it from $135 to $170 and JPMorgan from $165 to $172, indicating an overall positive sentiment in the market.
• Institutional investors now own 76.48% of Nucor's stock, with notable new stakes from Berkshire Hathaway and Norges Bank totaling around $1.36 billion in value.

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

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Nucor from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Nucor from $146.00 to $140.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Nucor from $165.00 to $172.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Nucor from $182.00 to $173.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $157.60.

Nucor Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE NUE opened at $138.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.86 billion, a PE ratio of 25.05, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.75. Nucor has a 1 year low of $97.59 and a 1 year high of $170.52. The business's 50-day moving average is $140.44 and its 200 day moving average is $130.92.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.90, for a total value of $1,449,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 84,080 shares in the company, valued at $12,183,192. The trade was a 10.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 stock was sold at an average price of $148.41, for a total transaction of $903,520.08. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders have sold 31,309 shares of company stock valued at $4,553,771 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new stake in Nucor in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $856,792,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 2nd quarter valued at $479,858,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 1st quarter valued at $194,804,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 1st quarter valued at $141,216,000. Finally, Greenwich Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 2nd quarter valued at $123,145,000. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

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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