Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $113.25 and last traded at $113.56, with a volume of 119486 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $114.48.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price target (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.75.

Nucor Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $139.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $147.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.59 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the business posted $4.57 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s payout ratio is 21.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 in the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NUE. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the 2nd quarter worth about $47,000. Versor Investments LP purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the second quarter valued at approximately $553,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Nucor by 37.5% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,727 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 1,016 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Nucor by 1.6% in the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 86,681 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,703,000 after purchasing an additional 1,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC grew its position in Nucor by 53,083.3% in the 2nd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 3,191 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $504,000 after purchasing an additional 3,185 shares during the period. 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.