Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.16 EPS

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.45 earnings per share. Nucor updated its Q2 guidance to below $3.46 EPS.

Nucor Stock Down 1.1 %

NUE stock traded down $1.88 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $172.76. 2,586,621 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,435,945. The company has a market capitalization of $41.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 1.61. 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 twelve month low of $129.79 and a twelve month high of $203.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.18.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup raised Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $193.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total value of $3,772,655.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,351,936.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,902,206.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Douglas J. Jellison sold 19,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $193.41, for a total transaction of $3,772,655.46. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 120,738 shares in the company, valued at $23,351,936.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,151 shares of company stock valued at $7,308,683. Company insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

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.