Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Short Interest Update

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,440,000 shares, a drop of 16.5% from the January 15th total of 5,320,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,600,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days. Currently, 1.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NUE. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Nucor from $166.00 to $154.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised Nucor from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $163.13.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $398,077,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 8,530.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,595,179 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $239,819,000 after acquiring an additional 1,576,695 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 19.8% during the 3rd 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. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the 3rd quarter worth about $74,829,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,404,477 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $280,627,000 after acquiring an additional 474,274 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NUE traded down $2.67 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $139.85. The company had a trading volume of 2,371,180 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,914,607. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.84 billion, a PE ratio of 16.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor has a twelve month low of $112.25 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $124.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $139.99.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Nucor will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

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.