Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Stock Price

Key Points

• Wells Fargo lowered Nucor’s price target from $297 to $285 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying approximately 14% upside from the reported $249.90 share price.
• Nucor reported strong quarterly results, with earnings per share of $4.84 exceeding estimates of $4.46 and revenue rising 23% year over year to $10.40 billion.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable: 12 analysts rate the stock a Buy and four rate it a Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and average price target of $272.38.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $297.00 to $285.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective indicates a potential upside of 14.05% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on NUE. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, May 25th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nucor from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $260.00 to $284.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Nucor from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $274.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $272.38.

Nucor Stock Up 2.6%

NYSE NUE traded up $6.27 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $249.90. 364,021 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,619,489. The business's 50-day moving average is $246.88 and its 200-day moving average is $217.05. Nucor has a twelve month low of $131.32 and a twelve month high of $280.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $56.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.95, a P/E/G ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 1.89.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $4.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.46 by $0.38. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 7.99%.The firm had revenue of $10.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 23.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 17.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other news, COO Stephen D. Laxton sold 3,968 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.96, for a total value of $1,019,617.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,008,704.32. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thomas J. Batterbee sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.02, for a total value of $1,044,080.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,138 shares in the company, valued at $4,212,340.76. This represents a 19.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 18,528 shares of company stock valued at $4,793,035 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Nucor by 23,029.6% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 61,424,649 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $13,682,341,000 after buying an additional 61,159,082 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Nucor by 62.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,083 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $687,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in Nucor by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,192 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $726,000 after purchasing an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank lifted its stake in Nucor by 84.0% in the 2nd quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 15,546 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,463,000 after purchasing an additional 7,099 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NI Acquisitions Company LLC bought a new position in Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Nucor Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source