Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) Short Interest Update

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,760,000 shares, a drop of 18.6% from the December 15th total of 5,850,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,180,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nucor news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total transaction of $1,860,210.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,109,918.96. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Nucor during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in Nucor during the third quarter worth $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 60.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on NUE shares. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup reduced 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. 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 for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.63.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE:NUE traded up $1.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $124.52. 197,052 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,102,205. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $134.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.94. 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 firm has a market cap of $29.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor has a one year low of $112.25 and a one year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.57 earnings per share. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 8.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is 21.26%.

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.