Stephen D. Laxton Sells 4,712 Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Stock

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Nucor Stock Down 3.9 %

NUE stock traded down $6.57 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $161.17. 2,608,016 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,537,997. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.96. The company has a market capitalization of $38.25 billion, a PE ratio of 15.57 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor Co. has a twelve month low of $133.42 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.57 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Nucor Co. will post 8.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NUE. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC lifted its holdings in Nucor by 4.1% in the second quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 1,630 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Nucor by 94.2% during the 1st quarter. Chilton Capital Management LLC now owns 134 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Nucor by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,457 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $546,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Nucor by 3.3% in the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted 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 valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NUE has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of Nucor to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.