Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Announces Earnings Results

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) announced its earnings results on Monday. The basic materials company reported $5.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.84 by ($0.04), Zacks reports. Nucor had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 12.73%. The company had revenue of $11.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.84 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 32.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Nucor Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:NUE opened at $257.51 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Nucor has a twelve month low of $139.21 and a twelve month high of $280.11. The company has a market cap of $58.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.84. The company’s 50 day moving average is $252.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.84.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 17.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on NUE shares. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $288.00 to $286.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 5th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Freedom Broker cut shares of Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $305.00 to $285.00 in a report on Friday, September 18th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Nucor from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Nucor from $295.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.86.

Key Stories Impacting Nucor

Here are the key news stories impacting Nucor this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Nucor reported third-quarter revenue of $11.25 billion, up 32% year over year and above the roughly $10.84 billion consensus. Net earnings rose to $1.32 billion, or $5.80 per diluted share, compared with $607 million, or $2.63 per share, a year earlier. Nucor third-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Steel mills led the improvement, with pretax earnings reportedly more than doubling year over year to $1.79 billion. Higher steel prices—at their strongest level in roughly four years—provided a favorable backdrop for margins. Nucor profit and revenue report
• Positive Sentiment: Management expects fourth-quarter earnings to be generally in line with or modestly higher than the third quarter, offering near-term support for the stock. Nucor also repurchased approximately 2.03 million shares during the quarter at an average price of $247.04. Nucor quarterly revenue and earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: The earnings comparison is mixed: $5.80 per share exceeded the Zacks estimate of $5.71 but fell just short of the $5.84 estimate cited by other analysts. This helps explain why the strong headline growth has not produced a larger positive reaction. Nucor earnings and revenue estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Quiver Quantitative reported that company insiders made no purchases but completed 26 sales over the past six months, including sizable sales by senior executives. While such transactions may reflect diversification, they could weigh on sentiment at a relatively elevated valuation.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Thomas Batterbee sold 4,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.02, for a total transaction of $1,044,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,212,340.76. The trade was a 19.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Stephen Laxton sold 3,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.96, for a total transaction of $1,019,617.28. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 77,867 shares in the company, valued at $20,008,704.32. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

About Nucor

Nucor Corporation is a steel producer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company manufactures steel and steel products for customers in construction, automotive, energy, heavy equipment, transportation and other industrial markets.

Nucor’s operations include electric arc furnace steel mills, which produce carbon, alloy and galvanized steel products. Its product portfolio includes sheet steel, plate, beams, bars, wire and wire mesh, steel joists, deck, piling, fabricated concrete reinforcing steel and other downstream products.