Leon J. Topalian Sells 34,238 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Stock

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 34,238 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.19, for a total value of $4,115,065.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 162,993 shares in the company, valued at $19,590,128.67. The trade was a 17.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $116.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $26.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.73. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $120.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.10. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $97.59 and a twelve month high of $176.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The basic materials company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $7.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.25 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. The business’s revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.15%.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Nucor by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $621,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 60.3% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 303 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $565,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 25.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,758,753 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $205,282,000 after buying an additional 358,721 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortem Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Nucor by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 4,073 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $475,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on NUE shares. Argus set a $155.00 price target on Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $156.00 to $160.00 in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $156.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.33.

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.