Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

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

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. UBS Group began coverage on Nucor in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Nucor from $180.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised 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 report on Wednesday, March 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.14.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE NUE opened at $172.76 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 1.61. Nucor has a twelve month low of $129.79 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $191.04 and a 200 day moving average of $174.17.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 12.40%. The business had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.45 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total transaction 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 $15,386,751.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $3,772,655.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of Nucor 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 owns 80,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,386,751.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its stake in Nucor by 208.0% in the first quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Nucor by 54.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in Nucor by 716.7% in 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 in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.