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

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 36,790 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 442% compared to the typical volume of 6,787 put options.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of Nucor 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,499,436. This represents a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 29,680 shares of company stock valued at $4,773,724 in the last ninety days. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Nucor during the second quarter worth about $47,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC increased its position in Nucor by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 2,496 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $553,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Nucor by 37.5% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,727 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $589,000 after buying an additional 1,016 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 1.6% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 86,681 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,703,000 after buying an additional 1,347 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Price Performance

Nucor stock opened at $114.48 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $26.88 billion, a PE ratio of 11.06 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 2.59 and a quick ratio of 1.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $139.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.25. Nucor has a one year low of $113.94 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 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.57 earnings per share. Nucor’s revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Nucor will post 8.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 21.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. 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 objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four investment 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus 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.