Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Insider Michael Keller Sells 4,554 Shares

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) insider Michael Keller sold 4,554 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.86, for a total value of $1,028,566.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,802,127.24. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Nucor Stock Up 1.0%

NUE opened at $234.30 on Thursday. Nucor Corporation has a 1-year low of $106.21 and a 1-year high of $235.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.90, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.87. The business has a 50 day moving average of $183.07 and a 200-day moving average of $170.61.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $9.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.88 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 6.82%.Nucor’s revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor Corporation will post 13.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.18%.

Nucor declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to purchase up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 21.1% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,266 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 568 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the first quarter valued at $259,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 81.8% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 340 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the second quarter valued at $390,000. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 51.9% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 40,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,263,000 after buying an additional 13,877 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on NUE. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Nucor from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America upped their target price on Nucor from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Nucor from $196.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane increased their price objective on Nucor from $210.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.80.

Nucor News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Nucor this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher targets lift sentiment — several firms have raised price targets (BNP Paribas Exane raised to $248 and kept an “outperform”), supporting upside expectations for the stock. BNP Paribas raises price target
• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly beat and revenue strength — Nucor reported better?than?expected Q1 EPS ($3.23 vs. $2.82 est.) and ~21% YoY revenue growth, which underpins the analyst upgrades and improves near?term earnings visibility.
• Positive Sentiment: Share repurchase and dividend support capital returns — the board authorized a $4.0B buyback (?9.7% of shares) and the company pays a growing quarterly dividend, both shareholder?friendly moves that can sustain buy?side interest.
• Neutral Sentiment: Solid balance sheet and institutional ownership — modest leverage (D/E ~0.30), healthy liquidity ratios and ~76% institutional ownership reduce downside from headline noise but can limit volatile flows.
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider sales — EVP David Sumoski sold 33,068 shares (~$7.46M) on Apr 30. Form 4 — Sumoski
• Negative Sentiment: Additional insider trimming — EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 12,888 shares on May 1. Form 4 — Needham
• Negative Sentiment: More insider sales — EVP Noah C. Hanners sold 6,472 shares on May 1. Form 4 — Hanners
• Negative Sentiment: Other recent executive sales — Allen C. Behr (10,096 shares) and Michael D. Keller (4,554 shares) also sold shares in early May, further increasing headline selling. Form 4 — Behr Form 4 — Keller

Nucor Company Profile

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) is an American steel producer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company is primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of steel and steel products, operating a network of steel mills, recycling facilities and fabrication plants across the United States and North America. Nucor’s operations emphasize electric arc furnace steelmaking using recycled scrap metal, which supports a decentralized, mill-based production model focused on efficiency and flexibility.

Product offerings span a broad range of basic and value?added steel items, including sheet, plate, merchant bar, structural beams, reinforcing bar, tubing, fasteners and fabricated components.