Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

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

A number of other analysts have also commented on NUE. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.13.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $133.33 on Monday. Nucor has a 12-month low of $112.25 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The stock has a market cap of $31.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50-day moving average of $127.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $141.59.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Nucor will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.16%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Nucor by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,724,117,000 after purchasing an additional 326,181 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 3.2% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 652,502 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $98,097,000 after buying an additional 20,258 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at about $565,000. BIP Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $681,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Nucor by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,861,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $883,732,000 after acquiring an additional 74,569 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

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.