Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.16 EPS

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by ($0.16), RTT News reports. Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.67%. The firm had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.45 earnings per share. Nucor’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Nucor updated its Q2 guidance to below $3.46 EPS.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE traded down $1.88 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $172.76. The stock had a trading volume of 2,582,503 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,431,145. The company has a market capitalization of $41.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $191.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.18. The company has a current ratio of 3.57, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Nucor has a 1 year low of $129.79 and a 1 year high of $203.00.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s payout ratio is 12.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total value of $1,025,035.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,902,206.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total value of $1,025,035.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,326 shares in the company, valued at $15,902,206.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total transaction of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,151 shares of company stock valued at $7,308,683 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group assumed 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $193.14.

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.