Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Shares Gap Down - What's Next?

Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $124.68, but opened at $120.00. Nucor shares last traded at $118.02, with a volume of 622,199 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NUE has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $156.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 target price on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $157.22.

Nucor Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market cap of $28.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.68. The stock's 50-day moving average is $115.00 and its 200 day moving average is $123.58.

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

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Nucor's payout ratio is 39.15%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total transaction of $4,115,065.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,590,128.67. This trade represents a 17.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NUE. Stephens Inc. AR raised its position in shares of Nucor by 38.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 8,455 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $987,000 after purchasing an additional 2,327 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in Nucor by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 9,013 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,052,000 after acquiring an additional 1,001 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in Nucor by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 5,568 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $650,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Bull Street Advisors LLC grew its stake in Nucor by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Bull Street Advisors LLC now owns 9,522 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,111,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Nucor by 29.1% in the 4th quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 417 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.