Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Stock Price Down 3.1% - Here's What Happened

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) shares were down 3.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $115.35 and last traded at $116.63. Approximately 1,107,328 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 2,164,046 shares. The stock had previously closed at $120.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on NUE shares. Morgan Stanley set a $164.00 price objective on Nucor in a report on Monday, March 24th. Argus set a $155.00 target price on Nucor in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Nucor from $175.00 to $169.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Nucor from $156.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $157.22.

Nucor Trading Down 2.6%

The stock has a market cap of $27.38 billion, a PE ratio of 14.11, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $113.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 2.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total value of $4,115,065.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 162,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,590,128.67. This trade represents a 17.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter worth $398,077,000. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the first quarter worth $194,804,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the first quarter worth $141,216,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Nucor by 2.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,959,327 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,484,965,000 after buying an additional 745,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Nucor by 17,785.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 505,789 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $60,867,000 after acquiring an additional 502,961 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.