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

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

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at $14,499,436. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Nucor by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,145 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,216,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Team Hewins LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Team Hewins LLC now owns 1,839 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 1st quarter worth $393,000. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 2.4% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 12,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,480,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Trading Up 16.0 %

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $167.74 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $147.68 and a 200 day moving average of $155.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a current ratio of 2.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.21 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor has a fifty-two week low of $133.42 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.57 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Nucor will post 8.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on NUE. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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. Argus raised Nucor to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.57.

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.