Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor (NYSE:NUE) in a research report issued on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the basic materials company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 22.60% from the company’s previous close.

NUE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Three 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.50.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $154.98 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $153.02. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Nucor has a 12 month low of $133.42 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.97 and a beta of 1.55.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.57 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 8.5 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,499,436. This represents a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 over the last ninety days. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Nucor by 129.0% during the second 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 period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its position in Nucor by 45.6% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.