Nucor Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:NUE)

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Investors acquired 14,380 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 174% compared to the average volume of 5,252 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Nucor from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. UBS Group began coverage on Nucor in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a "buy" rating and a $210.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Nucor from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $192.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total value of $1,025,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,326 shares in the company, valued at $15,902,206.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total value of $1,025,035.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,326 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,902,206.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total transaction of $3,772,655.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 120,738 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,151 shares of company stock valued at $7,308,683 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Nucor by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 5,851 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $915,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. PFG Advisors grew its position in shares of Nucor by 21.3% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 2,359 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $235,000. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Nucor by 109.2% during the 3rd quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 56,015 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $8,758,000 after acquiring an additional 29,241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McBroom & Associates LLC lifted its stake in Nucor by 5.8% during the third quarter. McBroom & Associates LLC now owns 28,468 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,560 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Trading Up 0.2 %

Nucor stock traded up $0.38 during trading on Monday, reaching $191.74. The company had a trading volume of 1,598,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,381,569. Nucor has a 12-month low of $129.79 and a 12-month high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 3.57. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $191.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 1.61.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.60 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 21.42% and a net margin of 13.03%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Nucor will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. Nucor's payout ratio is currently 12.01%.

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.