Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Given Sector Weight Rating at KeyCorp

Nucor (NYSE:NUE)‘s stock had its “sector weight” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at KeyCorp in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on NUE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Nucor from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Nucor from $194.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Seaport Research Partners upped their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $188.30.

Nucor Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NUE stock opened at $165.43 on Wednesday. Nucor has a 1-year low of $97.59 and a 1-year high of $196.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.94 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $176.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.68 billion, a PE ratio of 21.92, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.83.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.18). Nucor had a return on equity of 8.26% and a net margin of 5.37%.The firm had revenue of $7.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to buy up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 3,881 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total transaction of $690,818.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 88,298 shares in the company, valued at $15,717,044. The trade was a 4.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 7,452 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 76,628 shares in the company, valued at $15,020,620.56. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 26,401 shares of company stock valued at $4,936,152 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Nucor by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,407,540 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,633,554,000 after buying an additional 144,038 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,501,779 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,626,321,000 after acquiring an additional 371,911 shares in the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the second quarter worth $856,792,000. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Nucor by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,853,205 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $628,497,000 after purchasing an additional 41,728 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter worth approximately $609,002,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Company Profile

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.