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

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Investors acquired 36,790 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 442% compared to the average volume of 6,787 put options.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of Nucor stock traded down $1.88 during trading on Thursday, hitting $114.83. 882,236 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,628,358. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $140.28 and its 200-day moving average is $147.48. The stock has a market cap of $26.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.09 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor has a 52 week low of $113.94 and a 52 week high of $203.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The firm’s revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.57 EPS. Research analysts expect that Nucor will post 8.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NUE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.75.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other Nucor news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total transaction of $1,860,210.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares in the company, valued at $29,109,918.96. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,499,436. The trade was a 8.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NUE. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Nucor by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,724,117,000 after buying an additional 326,181 shares during the period. National Pension Service increased its position in Nucor by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 652,502 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $98,097,000 after purchasing an additional 20,258 shares during the period. BIP Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth about $681,000. Ascension Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the second quarter valued at about $885,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Nucor by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,861,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $883,732,000 after buying an additional 74,569 shares in the last quarter. 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.