Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Nucor (NYSE:NUE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday morning.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. UBS Group began coverage on Nucor in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a buy rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised Nucor from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Nucor from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $193.14.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $175.36 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $42.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 4.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Nucor has a 52 week low of $129.79 and a 52 week high of $203.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.32.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by ($0.16). The business had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.62%. Nucor’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.45 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Nucor will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s payout ratio is 12.71%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total transaction of $1,901,900.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,386,751.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $3,772,655.46. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total value of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at $15,386,751.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its position in Nucor by 208.0% in the 1st quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in Nucor by 54.1% in the 1st quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 168 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in Nucor by 716.7% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.