Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) CEO Leon J. Topalian Sells 34,238 Shares

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total transaction of $4,115,065.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 162,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,590,128.67. The trade was a 17.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Nucor Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:NUE traded down $0.89 on Friday, hitting $114.60. 246,126 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,732,521. Nucor Co. has a 1-year low of $97.59 and a 1-year high of $176.59. The company has a market capitalization of $26.42 billion, a PE ratio of 13.63, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.73. 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 firm's 50-day moving average is $119.32 and its 200 day moving average is $129.71.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $7.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.25 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Nucor during the 4th quarter worth $398,077,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Nucor during the first quarter worth approximately $194,804,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 17,785.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 505,789 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $60,867,000 after buying an additional 502,961 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Nucor by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,404,477 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $280,627,000 after purchasing an additional 474,274 shares during the period. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Nucor by 528.6% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 507,715 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $59,235,000 after acquiring an additional 426,949 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on NUE shares. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 price objective on Nucor in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Argus set a $155.00 price target on shares of Nucor in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Nucor from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $156.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $160.33.

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.