Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Nucor (NYSE:NUE)

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Investors purchased 13,596 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 41% compared to the average volume of 9,624 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at $239,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,069 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $612,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,481,000. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 16,344 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,457,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the period. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Stock Down 5.7 %

Shares of Nucor stock traded down $7.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $122.18. The company had a trading volume of 3,000,796 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,832,103. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $130.59 and a 200 day moving average of $138.01. Nucor has a 52-week low of $112.25 and a 52-week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $3.16 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Nucor will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NUE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Nucor from $154.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.33.

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.