Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Short Interest Update

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,760,000 shares, a decrease of 18.6% from the December 15th total of 5,850,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,180,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Nucor from $168.00 to $152.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at $14,499,436. The trade was a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 in the last three months. 0.64% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Widmann Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in Nucor by 4.0% in the third quarter. Widmann Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,800 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in Nucor by 45.6% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in Nucor by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,467 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $822,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirador Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in Nucor by 1.5% during the third quarter. Mirador Capital Partners LP now owns 5,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $789,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE NUE opened at $123.48 on Friday. Nucor has a one year low of $112.25 and a one year high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.57 EPS. Research analysts expect that Nucor will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.26%.

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.