Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume After Dividend Announcement

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) shares saw strong trading volume on Friday following a dividend announcement from the company. 775,852 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the previous session’s volume of 1,594,019 shares.The stock last traded at $160.14 and had previously closed at $165.53.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, November 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 29th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Nucor’s payout ratio is 9.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NUE shares. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $191.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 5th. StockNews.com raised Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, September 10th. Credit Suisse Group raised their price target on Nucor from $156.00 to $167.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Nucor from $150.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 8th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Nucor from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $161.00.

Nucor Stock Down 3.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $39.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.65 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 3.82 and a quick ratio of 2.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $168.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.20.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 24th. The basic materials company reported $5.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.59 by $0.22. Nucor had a net margin of 14.81% and a return on equity of 28.00%. The business had revenue of $9.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.67 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Nucor Co. will post 18.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In related news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 27,359 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.19, for a total transaction of $4,601,510.21. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 155,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,163,300.02. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 5,194 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.92, for a total value of $898,146.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 139,326 shares in the company, valued at $24,092,251.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 27,359 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.19, for a total value of $4,601,510.21. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 155,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,163,300.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 62,320 shares of company stock valued at $10,584,084. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Resources Investment Advisors LLC. increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 26.1% in the first quarter. Resources Investment Advisors LLC. now owns 9,657 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,997 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,137 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,413,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Nucor by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,004 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Nucor by 5.9% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,102 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank lifted its stake in Nucor by 6.5% in the first quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 16,089 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,485,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. 77.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Nucor

Nucor Corporation engages in manufacture and sale of steel and steel products. The company's 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 products; and bar steel products, such as blooms, billets, concrete reinforcing and merchant bars, and engineered special bar quality products.