Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Nucor (NYSE:NUE)

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Traders bought 12,932 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 134% compared to the typical volume of 5,534 call options.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total value of $1,321,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 98,770 shares in the company, valued at $14,499,436. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CX Institutional grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 52.8% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 17,245 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,726,000 after purchasing an additional 5,960 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. grew its position in shares of Nucor by 86.2% in the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 12,895 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,552,000 after buying an additional 5,971 shares during the last quarter. Ascension Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor during the second quarter worth about $885,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the second quarter worth about $6,655,000. Finally, DRW Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 2nd quarter valued at about $728,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Stock Up 13.7 %

Shares of NUE traded up $19.82 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $164.43. 1,521,785 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,505,184. 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 company has a market cap of $39.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.93 and a beta of 1.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $147.29 and its 200-day moving average is $155.87. 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. The company’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 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 8.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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