Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

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

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

Nucor Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE:NUE opened at $133.33 on Monday. Nucor has a one year low of $112.25 and a one year high of $203.00. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $127.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $141.59. 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 cap of $31.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 previous year, the company posted $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Nucor will post 7.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors 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 boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp grew its position 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 buying an additional 326,181 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 20,258 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $565,000. BIP Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Nucor during the third quarter worth approximately $681,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Nucor by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,861,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $883,732,000 after purchasing an additional 74,569 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Company Profile

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.