Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its target price lifted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $154.00 to $167.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 24.82% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on NUE. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com raised Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given 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 target price of $164.75.

Nucor Stock Up 1.4 %

NUE opened at $133.79 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $128.34 and a 200-day moving average of $139.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48. Nucor has a fifty-two week low of $112.25 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The company has a market capitalization of $30.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58.

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

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NUE. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $398,077,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 8,530.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,595,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $239,819,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576,695 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,456,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $519,648,000 after purchasing an additional 571,682 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Nucor by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,404,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $280,627,000 after buying an additional 474,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Nucor by 528.6% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 507,715 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $59,235,000 after buying an additional 426,949 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.