Nucor Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:NUE)

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders acquired 12,932 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 134% compared to the average volume of 5,534 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on NUE. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus upgraded Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price 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. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.57.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $161.17 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $147.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.25 billion, a PE ratio of 15.57 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor has a 12 month low of $133.42 and a 12 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) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.57 EPS. Nucor’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Nucor will post 8.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.87%.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of Nucor 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,499,436. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 24,712 shares of company stock worth $3,980,235. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 12.6% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,069 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $612,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at approximately $681,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the third quarter valued at approximately $291,000. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $232,000. Finally, OneAscent Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Nucor in the third quarter worth $257,000. 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.