Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Stock Rating Upgraded by Barclays

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) was upgraded by Barclays to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on NUE. KeyCorp began coverage on Nucor in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. Zacks Research raised Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Nucor from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Nucor from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Nucor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $247.50.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE NUE opened at $231.99 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.87. Nucor has a twelve month low of $106.21 and a twelve month high of $235.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $196.07 and a 200 day moving average of $177.57.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $9.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.88 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 6.82%.Nucor’s quarterly revenue was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.77 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 14.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to repurchase up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other news, EVP Randy J. Spicer sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $562,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,510 shares in the company, valued at $4,614,750. This represents a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 4,554 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.86, for a total value of $1,028,566.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 16,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,802,127.24. This trade represents a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 71,818 shares of company stock worth $16,234,593 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Nucor by 21.1% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the first quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Nucor by 81.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 340 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the second quarter valued at approximately $390,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Nucor by 51.9% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 40,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,263,000 after purchasing an additional 13,877 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Nucor

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.