Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Sets New 52-Week Low - Should You Sell?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on NUE. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four 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 presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $173.75.

Nucor Trading Up 0.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $27.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 1.60. The stock's 50-day moving average is $139.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 8.48 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. This is a positive change from Nucor's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total value of $793,488.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in Nucor by 45.6% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 230 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Nucor by 60.3% during the 4th 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 period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by 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.