The Goldman Sachs Group Begins Coverage on Nucor (NYSE:NUE)

Equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor (NYSE:NUE) in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga 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 price target would suggest a potential upside of 22.83% from the company’s previous close.

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

Nucor Stock Performance

NUE opened at $154.69 on Monday. Nucor has a 12-month low of $133.42 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $150.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.57 earnings per share. Nucor’s revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Nucor will post 8.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at $13,923,837.96. This represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,499,436. This represents a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 in the last quarter. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in Nucor by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 19,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,868,000 after buying an additional 833 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 9.6% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 36,493 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,486,000 after purchasing an additional 3,197 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,004,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,024,000. Finally, Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its position in Nucor by 29.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 19,037 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,866,000 after purchasing an additional 4,345 shares during the last quarter. 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.