Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Stock Price Down 5.8% – Should You Sell?

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE)’s share price was down 5.8% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $122.33 and last traded at $122.01. Approximately 912,679 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 1,824,263 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.50.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NUE has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Nucor from $154.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.33.

Nucor Stock Down 6.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The business has a fifty day moving average of $130.59 and a 200 day moving average of $138.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.16%.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of NUE. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter worth $239,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Nucor by 12.6% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,069 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $612,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in Nucor in the third quarter valued at $1,481,000. Commerce Bank increased its holdings in Nucor by 4.9% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 16,344 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,457,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in Nucor by 1.7% in the third quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 4,629 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. 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.