Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Rating Lowered to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their target price on Nucor from $306.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Freedom Broker downgraded Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the company from $305.00 to $285.00 in a report on Friday, September 18th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Nucor from $288.00 to $286.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Zacks Research raised Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Nucor from $296.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $284.00.

Nucor Trading Down 0.1%

NUE stock opened at $273.47 on Friday. Nucor has a 52-week low of $140.93 and a 52-week high of $280.11. The firm has a market cap of $62.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.41, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.81. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $253.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 26th. The basic materials company reported $5.80 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.84 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $11.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.84 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 9.26%. The company’s revenue was up 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Nucor will post 19.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In related news, EVP Noah Hanners sold 5,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.03, for a total value of $1,427,405.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 44,073 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,121,397.19. This trade represents a 10.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,452,563,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,539,044 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $429,298,000 after purchasing an additional 22,718 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the 2nd quarter worth about $462,886,000. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the second quarter worth approximately $413,814,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 1.7% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,809,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $306,054,000 after acquiring an additional 29,476 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

About Nucor

Nucor Corporation is a steel producer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company manufactures steel and steel products for customers in construction, automotive, energy, heavy equipment, transportation and other industrial markets.

Nucor’s operations include electric arc furnace steel mills, which produce carbon, alloy and galvanized steel products. Its product portfolio includes sheet steel, plate, beams, bars, wire and wire mesh, steel joists, deck, piling, fabricated concrete reinforcing steel and other downstream products.