Traders Purchase Large Volume of Nucor Call Options (NYSE:NUE)

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 12,932 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 134% compared to the average volume of 5,534 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,499,436. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.64% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of Nucor in the first quarter worth $28,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,145 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,216,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. Team Hewins LLC grew its stake in Nucor by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 1,839 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management bought a new position in Nucor in the 1st quarter worth $393,000. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in Nucor by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 12,532 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,480,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Nucor Trading Up 16.0 %

NUE stock traded up $23.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $167.74. 7,477,538 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,533,003. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $39.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor has a 52-week low of $133.42 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The stock's fifty day moving average is $147.68 and its 200-day moving average is $155.96.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company's revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.57 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Nucor will post 8.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.29%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.87%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on NUE. Argus upgraded Nucor to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $190.57.

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.