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

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $117.57 and last traded at $118.27, with a volume of 1729359 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $120.98.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $183.75.

Nucor Stock Down 2.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $148.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.65. The firm has a market cap of $27.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 1.55.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 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 analyst estimates 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 in the prior year, the company earned $4.57 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. This is a boost from Nucor's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.26%.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the company'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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,499,436. This represents a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 in the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NUE. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,724,117,000 after purchasing an additional 326,181 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Nucor by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,861,945 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $883,732,000 after acquiring an additional 74,569 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Nucor by 2.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,909,388 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $617,915,000 after acquiring an additional 84,558 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Nucor by 19.8% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,456,484 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $519,648,000 after acquiring an additional 571,682 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,160,803 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $341,580,000 after purchasing an additional 67,974 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.

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