JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Stock Price

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $240.00 to $282.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 10.24% from the stock’s current price.

NUE has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $244.00 to $292.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Nucor from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Nucor from $190.00 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 report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners lifted their price objective on Nucor from $245.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.17.

Nucor Stock Up 0.6%

Nucor stock traded up $1.48 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $255.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 71,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,606,086. Nucor has a 52-week low of $115.66 and a 52-week high of $264.67. The company has a market cap of $58.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $217.20 and its 200 day moving average is $186.64.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $9.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.88 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 6.82%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.77 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, February 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to buy up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Bradley Ford sold 2,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.13, for a total transaction of $519,971.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,132,242.37. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 4,554 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider owned 16,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,802,127.24. This trade represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 82,378 shares of company stock worth $18,963,930 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Stance Capital LLC bought a new stake in Nucor during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Nucor by 49.2% in the first quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 191 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by 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.