Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Nucor Corporation's stock experienced a significant decline, opening at $134.75 after closing at $144.52, amidst a trading volume of 575,336 shares.
• Analyst ratings on Nucor are mixed, with BMO Capital Markets upgrading the stock to "outperform," while Wall Street Zen downgraded it to "sell," reflecting varied investor sentiment.
• Nucor announced a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share, set to be paid on August 11th, representing an annualized yield of 1.59% with a payout ratio of 39.15%.

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $144.52, but opened at $134.75. Nucor shares last traded at $136.84, with a volume of 575,336 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on NUE shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, June 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $157.13.

Nucor Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $32.08 billion, a PE ratio of 25.07, a P/E/G ratio of 0.91 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $130.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.61.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.47 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 4.21%. Nucor's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.68 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.37, for a total transaction of $1,303,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 94,080 shares in the company, valued at $12,265,209.60. This represents a 9.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,088 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.87, for a total transaction of $906,342.56. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 99,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,707,592.73. This trade represents a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 2,462 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Canal Capital Management LLC now owns 3,075 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 53.8% during the 2nd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 240 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,512 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,247 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $511,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

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.