Leon J. Topalian Sells 11,000 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Stock

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total value of $1,860,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Nucor Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NUE stock opened at $158.84 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.77. Nucor Co. has a 52-week low of $133.42 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.35 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.57 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 8.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th were issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NUE. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Nucor by 129.0% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 158 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 94.2% in the first quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Nucor during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in Nucor during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 76.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.57.

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.