Insider Selling: Nucor (NYSE:NUE) EVP Sells 2,500 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Nucor EVP Randy Spicer sold 2,500 shares on May 18 at an average price of $225.00, totaling $562,500 and reducing his ownership by 10.86%.
• The stock has been trading near its highs, recently up to $224.79, close to its 12-month high of $235.45 and well above its 12-month low of $106.21.
• Nucor posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.23 and revenue of $9.50 billion, and the company also continues to support shareholders through a quarterly dividend and a $4 billion share repurchase program.

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) EVP Randy Spicer sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $562,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,510 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,614,750. The trade was a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE traded up $3.06 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $224.79. The stock had a trading volume of 418,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,629,703. Nucor Corporation has a 12-month low of $106.21 and a 12-month high of $235.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 2.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $192.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.12.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.41. Nucor had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 6.82%.The firm had revenue of $9.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Nucor Corporation will post 14.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.18%.

Nucor declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to purchase up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,528,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 15,814.3% in the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 3,342 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 3,321 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,085,000. Peterson Wealth Services grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 587,032.0% in the 3rd quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 146,783 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $19,879,000 after purchasing an additional 146,758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,103,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $342,642,000 after purchasing an additional 210,577 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NUE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Nucor from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Nucor from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Nucor from $180.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Nucor from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $245.45.

Nucor Company Profile

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.

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