Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Stock Rating Upgraded by UBS Group

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) was upgraded by UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $160.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $156.00. UBS Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 31.13% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on NUE. StockNews.com upgraded Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup cut their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Nucor from $154.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $164.78.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE stock opened at $122.02 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $28.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51. Nucor has a 52-week low of $112.25 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.72.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.16 EPS. Research analysts expect that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Putney Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Nucor by 60.3% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

About Nucor

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.