Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Given New $248.00 Price Target at BNP Paribas Exane

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) had its price target upped by equities researchers at BNP Paribas Exane from $210.00 to $248.00 in a report released on Monday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. BNP Paribas Exane’s target price indicates a potential upside of 7.52% from the stock’s current price.

NUE has been the topic of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday. UBS Group lowered shares of Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $190.00 to $224.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Nucor from $213.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.80.

Nucor Stock Up 2.1%

Nucor stock traded up $4.85 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $230.66. 134,156 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,660,378. The company has a market cap of $52.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.87. Nucor has a twelve month low of $106.21 and a twelve month high of $230.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a fifty day moving average of $180.91 and a 200-day moving average of $169.22.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.41. Nucor had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The business had revenue of $9.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.77 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Nucor will post 13.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to purchase up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 7,452 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.02, for a total transaction of $1,460,741.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 76,628 shares in the company, valued at $15,020,620.56. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP David A. Sumoski sold 33,068 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.67, for a total transaction of $7,462,455.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 243,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,914,312.13. This represents a 11.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in Nucor in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management acquired a new position in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.