Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Insider Michael Keller Sells 6,088 Shares

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) insider Michael Keller sold 6,088 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.41, for a total transaction of $903,520.08. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,464 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,333,882.24. This trade represents a 21.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Nucor Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of Nucor stock traded down $0.04 on Tuesday, reaching $149.51. The stock had a trading volume of 230,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,425,794. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Nucor Corporation has a 1 year low of $97.59 and a 1 year high of $170.52. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $138.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.74.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $8.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.47 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 4.21% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.71%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Nucor during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 51.4% in the second quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. now owns 221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co increased its position in shares of Nucor by 53.8% during the second quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 240 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Nucor by 73.5% in the first quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on NUE shares. UBS Group dropped their price target on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Nucor to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Nucor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.78.

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.