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

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) released its earnings results on Monday. The basic materials company reported $3.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.62 by ($0.16), RTT News reports. Nucor had a return on equity of 19.62% and a net margin of 12.40%. The business had revenue of $8.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.45 earnings per share. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Nucor updated its Q2 guidance to below $3.46 EPS.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE:NUE opened at $172.76 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $191.04 and its 200-day moving average is $174.17. The company has a market cap of $41.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.16 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 4.02. Nucor has a 52-week low of $129.79 and a 52-week high of $203.00.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.71%.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $193.67, for a total value of $609,092.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 24,873 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,817,153.91. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total transaction of $1,025,035.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,326 shares in the company, valued at $15,902,206.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 3,145 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,151 shares of company stock worth $7,308,683. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NUE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut shares of Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $180.00 to $240.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.