The Goldman Sachs Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Stock

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its target price boosted by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group from $260.00 to $284.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 7.72% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. BofA boosted their price objective on Nucor from $265.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. They issued a “sector weight” rating for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on shares of Nucor from $200.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Two 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.com, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $266.46.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE NUE traded up $4.33 on Tuesday, hitting $263.65. 100,651 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,602,860. The business’s fifty day moving average is $224.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $189.65. Nucor has a 12 month low of $120.40 and a 12 month high of $270.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.09, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.90.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.41. Nucor had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 6.82%.The firm had revenue of $9.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 15.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 12,888 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.00, for a total value of $2,912,688.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 89,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,277,624. This trade represents a 12.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP John J. Hollatz sold 10,560 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.46, for a total value of $2,729,337.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 97,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,294,187.90. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 82,378 shares of company stock worth $18,963,930. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 21.1% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Nucor in the 1st quarter worth approximately $259,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Nucor by 81.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 340 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Nucor during the second quarter valued at approximately $390,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 51.9% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 40,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,263,000 after acquiring an additional 13,877 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

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.