Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) to Post Q3 2024 Earnings of $3.04 Per Share, Zacks Research Forecasts

Nucor Co. (NYSE:NUE) – Analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Nucor in a research report issued on Monday, May 6th. Zacks Research analyst M. Agrawal now expects that the basic materials company will earn $3.04 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $2.94. The consensus estimate for Nucor’s current full-year earnings is $12.55 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Nucor’s Q4 2024 earnings at $2.59 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $3.07 EPS and Q4 2025 earnings at $3.12 EPS.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 22nd. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by ($0.16). Nucor had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 12.40%. The firm had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.45 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis.

NUE has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com downgraded Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $193.14.

Nucor Price Performance

Nucor stock opened at $169.81 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 4.02, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $187.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.79. The stock has a market cap of $40.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.99 and a beta of 1.65. Nucor has a 12-month low of $129.79 and a 12-month high of $203.00.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 4th quarter worth $377,631,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth about $108,747,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Nucor during the first quarter worth about $90,216,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Nucor by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,070,960 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $360,430,000 after buying an additional 237,752 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,262,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $353,794,000 after acquiring an additional 159,230 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total transaction of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 80,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,386,751.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total transaction of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,386,751.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,817,153.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 32,651 shares of company stock worth $6,283,648. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Nucor’s payout ratio is 12.71%.

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.