Nucor (NUE) Projected to Post Earnings on Monday

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) is anticipated to release its earnings data after the market closes on Monday, January 27th. Analysts expect Nucor to post earnings of $0.94 per share and revenue of $6,770,099.47 billion for the quarter. Investors interested in participating in the company's conference call can do so using this link.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) 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 the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $7.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.28 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 8.05%. Nucor's revenue for the quarter was down 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.57 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Nucor to post $8 EPS for the current fiscal year and $8 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $124.40. The stock had a trading volume of 1,842,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,239,521. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a market cap of $29.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 1.60. Nucor has a fifty-two week low of $112.25 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $133.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.40.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is a positive change from Nucor's previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Nucor's payout ratio is presently 21.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of 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 lowered their target price on Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup cut their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Nucor from $168.00 to $152.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $163.63.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total transaction of $798,825.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,923,837.96. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 over the last ninety days. 0.64% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.