Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Stock Price Down 5.8% – Should You Sell?

Shares of Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) fell 5.8% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $122.33 and last traded at $122.01. 912,679 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average session volume of 1,824,263 shares. The stock had previously closed at $129.50.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on NUE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Citigroup cut their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 price target (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.33.

Nucor Trading Down 6.5 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $130.59 and a 200-day moving average of $138.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a current ratio of 2.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.16 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Nucor Co. will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 26.16%.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Nucor by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,427,899 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,724,117,000 after purchasing an additional 326,181 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor in the 4th quarter worth $565,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Nucor by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,861,945 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $883,732,000 after acquiring an additional 74,569 shares during the period. InvesTrust acquired a new stake in Nucor during the 4th quarter worth about $4,388,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 249,984 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,583,000 after buying an additional 34,149 shares during the period. 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.