Share Repurchase Program Approved by Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Board

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 20th, RTT News reports. The company plans to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to purchase up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on shares of Nucor from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. UBS Group cut Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $183.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Nucor from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.36.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $179.91 on Monday. Nucor has a 12-month low of $97.59 and a 12-month high of $196.90. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $174.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $155.54. The firm has a market cap of $41.17 billion, a PE ratio of 23.86, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 2.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $7.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.93 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 8.26% and a net margin of 5.37%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Nucor will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 29.71%.

Key Nucor News

Here are the key news stories impacting Nucor this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board authorizes $4.0 billion share repurchase (up to ~9.7% of shares), signalling management believes shares are undervalued and should boost EPS/return of capital; supportive for the stock. RTT News: Stock Buybacks
• Positive Sentiment: Declared regular quarterly dividend of $0.56 (212th consecutive quarterly payout); payable May 11 to shareholders of record Mar 31. Dividend continuity reduces investor uncertainty and underscores free-cash-flow discipline (annualized yield ~1.2%). PR Newswire: Dividend & Repurchase Program
• Neutral Sentiment: Promotion of John L. “Jack” Sullivan to CFO, Treasurer & EVP — internal hire (Treasurer) that preserves continuity in finance leadership; reduces execution risk vs. an external hire but market impact depends on investors’ view of his track record. PR Newswire: CFO Promotion
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage piece on analyst sentiment — some Wall Street commentary is bullish, but investors should weigh recent fundamentals (Nucor missed EPS and revenue in its Jan quarter) against the new buyback/dividend actions. Yahoo Finance: Analyst Coverage

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Nucor news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 3,881 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $690,818.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 88,298 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,717,044. This trade represents a 4.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 7,568 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.50, for a total value of $1,426,568.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 67,711 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,763,523.50. The trade was a 10.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 34,351 shares of company stock valued at $6,206,158 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

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.