Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Nucor Put Options (NYSE:NUE)

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 36,790 put options on the company. This is an increase of 442% compared to the typical volume of 6,787 put options.

Nucor Stock Performance

Nucor stock opened at $115.45 on Friday. Nucor has a fifty-two week low of $112.25 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The company has a market capitalization of $27.11 billion, a PE ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 1.60. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $139.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The business’s revenue 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, equities analysts forecast that Nucor will post 8.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity 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 shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,499,436. This represents a 8.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter worth $565,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Nucor by 60.3% in 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. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 3.1% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,097 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $621,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 19,075 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,868,000 after buying an additional 833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Nucor by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 36,493 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,486,000 after buying an additional 3,197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NUE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $173.75.

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.