Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Shares Down 7.9% – Time to Sell?

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) dropped 7.9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $254.12 and last traded at $243.32. 723,548 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 1,593,413 shares. The stock had previously closed at $264.19.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on NUE. Bank of America lowered their target price on Nucor from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Nucor from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $274.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $270.00 target price on shares of Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $273.31.

Nucor Trading Up 2.9%

The firm has a market cap of $56.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.73, a PEG ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a 50 day moving average of $247.32 and a 200 day moving average of $216.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $4.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.46 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $10.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.15 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.73% and a net margin of 7.99%.The firm’s revenue was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Nucor Corporation will post 17.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.86%.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Thomas J. Batterbee sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.02, for a total transaction of $1,044,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,212,340.76. This represents a 19.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Stephen D. Laxton sold 3,968 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.96, for a total value of $1,019,617.28. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 77,867 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,008,704.32. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,528 shares of company stock valued at $4,793,035. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nucor during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Stance Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

About Nucor

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.