Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on NUE. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $192.83.

Nucor Trading Down 8.9 %

Shares of Nucor stock traded down $16.99 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $174.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,805,092 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,426,247. Nucor has a 52-week low of $129.79 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The company has a market cap of $41.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 1.61. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $191.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.18. The company has a quick ratio of 2.35, a current ratio of 3.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a net margin of 13.03% and a return on equity of 21.42%. The business had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.45 EPS. Nucor’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total value of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,386,751.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total value of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,386,751.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tompkins Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 208.0% in the first quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Nucor by 54.1% during the first quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 168 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in Nucor by 716.7% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 196 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.