Zacks Research Issues Optimistic Estimate for Nucor Earnings

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q2 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Nucor in a research report issued on Thursday, August 14th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the basic materials company will post earnings per share of $3.03 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $3.02. The consensus estimate for Nucor’s current full-year earnings is $7.64 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Nucor’s Q3 2026 earnings at $2.75 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $9.30 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $3.23 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $12.72 EPS.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.06. Nucor had a net margin of 4.21% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The company had revenue of $8.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wall Street Zen cut Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Nucor from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised Nucor to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $155.78.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $144.72 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.83, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Nucor has a 12 month low of $97.59 and a 12 month high of $170.52. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.74.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in NUE. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Nucor by 51.4% in the 2nd quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. now owns 221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co boosted its holdings in Nucor by 53.8% in the 2nd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 240 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Nucor by 73.5% during the 1st quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 281 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.37, for a total transaction of $1,303,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 94,080 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,265,209.60. The trade was a 9.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 8,021 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.38, for a total transaction of $1,150,050.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 82,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,857,956.14. This represents a 8.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 25,109 shares of company stock worth $3,360,094. 0.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 39.71%.

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.