UBS Group Upgrades Nucor (NYSE:NUE) to Buy

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) was upgraded by investment analysts at UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $190.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $184.00. UBS Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 16.23% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $194.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Seaport Research Partners upped their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Nucor from $182.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on Nucor from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $188.90.

Nucor Price Performance

Nucor stock opened at $163.48 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $175.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.50. Nucor has a 12-month low of $97.59 and a 12-month high of $196.90. The stock has a market cap of $37.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.68, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.83.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $7.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.93 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 5.37% and a return on equity of 8.26%. Nucor’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to purchase up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 7,568 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.50, for a total value of $1,426,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 67,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,763,523.50. The trade was a 10.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 7,452 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.02, for a total transaction of $1,460,741.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 76,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,020,620.56. The trade was a 8.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 26,401 shares of company stock valued at $4,936,152 in the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in Nucor during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Nucor this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company issued stronger Q1 2026 EPS guidance of $2.70–$2.80 and management noted improving mill backlog and limited direct energy exposure, which analysts say helps insulate results from geopolitical risk. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: UBS upgraded NUE to Buy (price target $190, up from $184), calling the recent pullback an “excessive correction” and a buying opportunity—this provides a high?profile bullish catalyst and implies ~16% upside to the new PT. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Seaport Research reiterated a Buy and maintained a $185 target following Nucor’s Q1 pre?announcement, flagging improving profitability expectations. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: KeyCorp initiated coverage on Nucor (coverage initiation can add visibility but impact depends on the assigned rating and model assumptions). Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks industry outlook highlighted Nucor among steel peers—notes mixed demand headwinds but supportive factors like rising steel prices and non?residential construction. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent quarterly results fell short of consensus (Q4 EPS $1.73 vs. $1.91 est.; revenue $7.69B vs. $7.93B est.), creating short?term headwinds. Combined with macro/geopolitical driven risk aversion (Middle East conflict), this helps explain intraday weakness despite the bullish analyst moves.

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.