Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Monday.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on NUE. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Nucor from $152.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.13.

Nucor Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NUE traded up $3.14 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $131.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,050,746 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,768,014. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company’s 50-day moving average is $128.47 and its 200-day moving average is $142.05. Nucor has a 52-week low of $112.25 and a 52-week high of $203.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.64 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.16 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Nucor will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 4,968 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.72, for a total transaction of $793,488.96. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,636,254.72. This represents a 5.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 172,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,109,918.96. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,680 shares of company stock worth $3,452,524. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of NUE. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in Nucor in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Nucor in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Nucor during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

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.