Zacks Research Has Optimistic Outlook of Nucor Q4 Earnings

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) - Analysts at Zacks Research raised their Q4 2024 earnings estimates for shares of Nucor in a report issued on Monday, November 11th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the basic materials company will post earnings per share of $1.01 for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.00. The consensus estimate for Nucor's current full-year earnings is $8.52 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Nucor's Q1 2025 earnings at $2.20 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $3.10 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $3.52 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $2.64 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $160.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $168.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded Nucor to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Three 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $190.57.

Nucor Stock Performance

NUE traded down $1.67 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $152.22. The stock had a trading volume of 2,465,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,548,593. The company has a current ratio of 2.59, a quick ratio of 1.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.24. The firm has a market cap of $35.74 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 1.55. Nucor has a 12 month low of $133.42 and a 12 month high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The business had revenue of $7.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.28 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.57 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 27th. Nucor's payout ratio is 20.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nucor news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total value of $1,860,210.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,136 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 9,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.80, for a total transaction of $1,321,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 98,770 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,499,436. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total value of $1,860,210.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in Nucor by 8,530.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 1,595,179 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $239,819,000 after buying an additional 1,576,695 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Nucor by 29.7% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,884,802 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $456,030,000 after acquiring an additional 660,866 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Nucor in the 3rd quarter worth about $74,829,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Nucor by 14,525.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 326,889 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $49,144,000 after acquiring an additional 324,654 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Nucor by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,283,111 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $192,902,000 after purchasing an additional 262,493 shares during 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.