Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Given New $285.00 Price Target at Seaport Research Partners

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its target price increased by analysts at Seaport Research Partners from $245.00 to $285.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Seaport Research Partners’ price objective points to a potential upside of 11.42% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on NUE. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Nucor from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. CICC Research started coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, May 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Nucor from $180.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $259.17.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE:NUE traded up $1.48 on Wednesday, hitting $255.80. The stock had a trading volume of 71,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,606,086. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $217.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $186.64. The stock has a market cap of $58.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.88. Nucor has a 52-week low of $115.66 and a 52-week high of $264.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $9.50 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Nucor will post 14.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, February 20th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to purchase up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Bradley Ford sold 2,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.13, for a total transaction of $519,971.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 43,649 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,132,242.37. This represents a 4.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John J. Hollatz sold 10,560 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.46, for a total transaction of $2,729,337.60. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 97,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,294,187.90. This trade represents a 9.74% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 82,378 shares of company stock valued at $18,963,930 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $609,002,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 580.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 653,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $84,699,000 after buying an additional 557,819 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Nucor by 20.1% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,042,761 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $412,081,000 after buying an additional 509,019 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in Nucor by 169.0% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 779,940 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $127,216,000 after buying an additional 489,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Nucor by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,780,423 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $290,405,000 after buying an additional 383,952 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Company Profile

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.