Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Upgraded at Argus

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Argus to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Monday, Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on NUE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, May 20th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Nucor from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $187.00 to $176.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $194.43.

Nucor Price Performance

NYSE NUE opened at $150.37 on Monday. Nucor has a 52 week low of $139.41 and a 52 week high of $203.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.93, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $36.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $153.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.33.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.68 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.37. Nucor had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 15.69%. The firm had revenue of $8.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.81 EPS. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Nucor will post 10.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $1,379,840.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 99,049 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,847,840. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NUE. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Nucor by 129.0% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nucor in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Nucor by 94.2% in the 1st quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Nucor in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Tompkins Financial Corp grew its stake in Nucor by 208.0% in the 1st quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Company Profile

Nucor Corporation engages in manufacture and sale of steel and steel products. It operates in three segments: steel mills, steel products, and raw materials. The Steel Mills segment produces hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and galvanized sheet steel products; plate steel products; wide-flange beams, beam blanks, and H-piling and sheet piling structural steel products; bar steel products, such as blooms, billets, concrete reinforcing and merchant bars, and engineered special bar quality products; and engages in the steel trading and rebar distribution businesses.