Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Price Target Raised to $258.00 at Morgan Stanley

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its target price hoisted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $227.00 to $258.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential upside of 5.63% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on NUE. Zacks Research upgraded Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Nucor from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. CICC Research assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, May 25th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Two investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $266.33.

Nucor Trading Up 0.2%

NUE opened at $244.26 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.63 billion, a PE ratio of 24.18, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.88. Nucor has a 1-year low of $122.82 and a 1-year high of $270.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $230.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $192.20.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $9.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.88 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.68%. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 15.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,096 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.08, for a total value of $2,282,503.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 62,871 shares in the company, valued at $14,213,875.68. This trade represents a 13.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 4,554 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.86, for a total transaction of $1,028,566.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,802,127.24. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 82,378 shares of company stock worth $18,963,930. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Nucor by 21.1% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Nucor during the first quarter valued at approximately $259,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew 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 valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Nucor in the second quarter valued at approximately $390,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Nucor by 51.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 40,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,263,000 after purchasing an additional 13,877 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.