Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Nucor (NYSE:NUE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on NUE. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Nucor from $152.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Nucor in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $176.00 target price on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.60.

Nucor Stock Up 0.6%

Nucor stock opened at $158.78 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $36.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Nucor has a twelve month low of $97.59 and a twelve month high of $168.07. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $150.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $142.19.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by $0.33. Nucor had a return on equity of 7.80% and a net margin of 5.18%.The company had revenue of $8.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.27 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.49 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.5% on a year-over-year basis. Nucor has set its Q4 2025 guidance at -2.630 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 30.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 9,042 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $1,367,873.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 73,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,143,436.08. This trade represents a 10.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP John J. Hollatz sold 7,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.88, for a total value of $1,049,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 96,550 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,470,914. This represents a 6.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 18,045 shares of company stock worth $2,720,628 in the last ninety days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Berkshire Hathaway Inc acquired a new stake in Nucor during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $856,792,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at $479,858,000. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at $123,145,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the second quarter worth $105,435,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Nucor by 580.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 653,845 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $84,699,000 after buying an additional 557,819 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.