Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Nucor from $182.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Seaport Research Partners upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Nucor from $190.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. KeyCorp assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on Nucor from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $188.90.

Nucor Stock Down 1.5%

NUE stock opened at $163.48 on Friday. Nucor has a fifty-two week low of $97.59 and a fifty-two week high of $196.90. The business’s 50-day moving average is $175.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.94. The company has a market cap of $37.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.83.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.18). Nucor had a net margin of 5.37% and a return on equity of 8.26%. The firm had revenue of $7.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Nucor will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to reacquire up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 7,568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.50, for a total transaction of $1,426,568.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 67,711 shares in the company, valued at $12,763,523.50. This trade represents a 10.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 7,452 shares of Nucor 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 76,628 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,020,620.56. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 26,401 shares of company stock valued at $4,936,152 over the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Berkshire Hathaway Inc purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the second quarter valued at about $856,792,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter worth about $609,002,000. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the second quarter worth about $123,145,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 557,819 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its stake in Nucor by 20.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,042,761 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $412,081,000 after purchasing an additional 509,019 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Nucor this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company issued stronger Q1 2026 EPS guidance of $2.70–$2.80 and management noted improving mill backlog and limited direct energy exposure, which analysts say helps insulate results from geopolitical risk. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: UBS upgraded NUE to Buy (price target $190, up from $184), calling the recent pullback an “excessive correction” and a buying opportunity—this provides a high‑profile bullish catalyst and implies ~16% upside to the new PT. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Seaport Research reiterated a Buy and maintained a $185 target following Nucor’s Q1 pre‑announcement, flagging improving profitability expectations. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: KeyCorp initiated coverage on Nucor (coverage initiation can add visibility but impact depends on the assigned rating and model assumptions). Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks industry outlook highlighted Nucor among steel peers—notes mixed demand headwinds but supportive factors like rising steel prices and non‑residential construction. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent quarterly results fell short of consensus (Q4 EPS $1.73 vs. $1.91 est.; revenue $7.69B vs. $7.93B est.), creating short‑term headwinds. Combined with macro/geopolitical driven risk aversion (Middle East conflict), this helps explain intraday weakness despite the bullish analyst moves.

About Nucor

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.