Nucor Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:NUE)

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors bought 36,790 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 442% compared to the average volume of 6,787 put options.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. The trade was a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at $14,499,436. This represents a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 in the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NUE. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 3.1% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in Nucor by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 19,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,868,000 after buying an additional 833 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Nucor by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 36,493 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,486,000 after acquiring an additional 3,197 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth $1,004,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth $2,024,000. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Trading Down 1.6 %

Nucor stock traded down $1.88 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $114.83. 882,236 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,628,358. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $140.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Nucor has a 12 month low of $113.94 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 1.55.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.57 EPS. Analysts forecast that Nucor will post 8.48 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 21.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.75.

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.