Jefferies Financial Group Boosts Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Price Target to $135.00

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from $125.00 to $135.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "hold" rating on the basic materials company's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's target price would indicate a potential upside of 6.40% from the stock's previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $168.00 to $152.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $164.63.

Nucor Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE NUE traded up $0.33 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $126.88. The company had a trading volume of 2,738,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,552,186. 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 one year low of $112.25 and a one year high of $203.00. The company has a market cap of $29.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 1.60. The company's fifty day moving average is $129.79 and its 200-day moving average is $142.83.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released 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 net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Nucor will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,636,254.72. This trade represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 20,680 shares of company stock valued at $3,452,524 in the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 8,530.1% in the 3rd 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 period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,456,484 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $519,648,000 after purchasing an additional 571,682 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $74,829,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Nucor by 25.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $205,282,000 after acquiring an additional 358,721 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its stake in Nucor by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,724,117,000 after acquiring an additional 326,181 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.