Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nucor (NYSE:NUE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning.

NUE has been the topic of several other research reports. Citigroup raised Nucor from a neutral rating to a buy rating and upped their price target for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a buy rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $192.83.

Nucor Trading Down 8.9 %

Shares of NYSE NUE opened at $174.64 on Tuesday. Nucor has a 1-year low of $129.79 and a 1-year high of $203.00. The company has a 50-day moving average of $191.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.18. The company has a market cap of $41.91 billion, a PE ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 13.03%. The company had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Nucor will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 12.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total transaction of $1,901,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 80,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,386,751.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 80,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,386,751.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at $4,817,153.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,151 shares of company stock valued at $7,308,683 in the last ninety days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its position in shares of Nucor by 3.4% during the first quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 9,247 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,830,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Rational Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Nucor by 119.8% during the 1st quarter. Rational Advisors LLC now owns 288 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 7,802 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,544,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the first quarter valued at about $228,000. Finally, Revisor Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 178.7% during the first quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,222 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $971,000 after buying an additional 3,348 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Nucor

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.