Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its price objective increased by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $154.00 to $167.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 25.43% from the stock’s current price.

NUE has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. 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 for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.75.

Nucor Stock Up 0.9 %

Nucor stock traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $133.14. 1,737,283 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,780,313. Nucor has a 12 month low of $112.25 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The company has a market cap of $31.26 billion, a PE ratio of 15.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $128.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $139.22.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.16 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Nucor will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NUE. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth about $398,077,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 8,530.1% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,595,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $239,819,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576,695 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Nucor by 19.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,456,484 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $519,648,000 after purchasing an additional 571,682 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Nucor by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,404,477 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $280,627,000 after buying an additional 474,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Nucor by 528.6% during the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 507,715 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $59,235,000 after acquiring an additional 426,949 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.