StockNews.com Lowers Nucor (NYSE:NUE) to Hold

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

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. 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 report on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a buy rating and a $210.00 target price for the company. Five investment 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, Nucor currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $193.14.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE stock opened at $175.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $190.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.21 billion, a PE ratio of 10.35 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a current ratio of 4.02, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Nucor has a one year low of $129.79 and a one year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.62%. The firm had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Nucor will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Nucor

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NUE. Keybank National Association OH grew its holdings in Nucor by 3.4% during the third quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 19,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,009,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter worth $3,481,000. AIA Group Ltd lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 53.2% in the fourth quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 13,226 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,302,000 after purchasing an additional 4,592 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter worth $1,230,000. Finally, abrdn plc increased its position in shares of Nucor by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 154,745 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,932,000 after purchasing an additional 45,521 shares during the last quarter. 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.