Zacks Research Weighs in on Nucor’s Q2 Earnings (NYSE:NUE)

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q2 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Nucor in a report issued on Wednesday, March 11th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the basic materials company will post earnings of $3.24 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $3.23. The consensus estimate for Nucor’s current full-year earnings is $7.64 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Nucor’s Q4 2026 earnings at $1.82 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $3.89 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $13.51 EPS.

NUE has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on shares of Nucor from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $190.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $182.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, UBS Group cut Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $183.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.90.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NUE opened at $165.64 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $177.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.35. The firm has a market cap of $37.73 billion, a PE ratio of 21.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.83. Nucor has a 12-month low of $97.59 and a 12-month high of $196.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $7.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.93 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 8.26% and a net margin of 5.37%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.22 EPS.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $256,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in Nucor by 17.5% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 63,832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,417,000 after acquiring an additional 9,512 shares during the last quarter. Union Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at about $162,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Nucor by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,132,089 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $184,666,000 after acquiring an additional 250,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in Nucor during the fourth quarter worth about $608,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Thomas J. Batterbee sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.28, for a total value of $330,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 17,952 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,967,106.56. This trade represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 7,452 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.02, for a total transaction of $1,460,741.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 76,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,020,620.56. The trade was a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,351 shares of company stock valued at $6,206,158. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the basic materials company to purchase up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.71%.

About Nucor

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) is an American steel producer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company is primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of steel and steel products, operating a network of steel mills, recycling facilities and fabrication plants across the United States and North America. Nucor’s operations emphasize electric arc furnace steelmaking using recycled scrap metal, which supports a decentralized, mill-based production model focused on efficiency and flexibility.

Product offerings span a broad range of basic and value‑added steel items, including sheet, plate, merchant bar, structural beams, reinforcing bar, tubing, fasteners and fabricated components.