Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $191.63, but opened at $177.70. Nucor shares last traded at $180.77, with a volume of 1,024,329 shares.

The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.45 EPS. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on NUE. 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 price objective on the stock. Citigroup upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Nucor from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $192.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total transaction of $1,025,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,902,206.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total value of $1,025,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,902,206.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 24,873 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683 over the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SVB Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 3,656 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $636,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 865 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 7,191 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,252,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 36.6% during the 4th quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 220 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Down 8.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $41.91 billion, a P/E 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. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $191.20 and its 200 day moving average is $174.18.

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.