Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Stock Rating Upgraded by UBS Group

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) was upgraded by equities researchers at UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a $160.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $156.00. UBS Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 25.48% from the stock’s current price.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on NUE. StockNews.com raised Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Nucor from $154.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.78.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $127.51 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $130.86 and a 200-day moving average of $137.56. Nucor has a 12 month low of $112.25 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.40 billion, a PE ratio of 15.16, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.16 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Widmann Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 4.0% during the third quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC grew its position in Nucor by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 3,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $359,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Horrell Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Nucor by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Horrell Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,657 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,111,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Nucor by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. TCI Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,157 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 91 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jessup Wealth Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Jessup Wealth Management Inc now owns 10,528 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,229,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 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.