Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Issues Q3 Earnings Guidance

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) updated its third quarter earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $1.30-1.40 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81.

Nucor Stock Performance

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $142.92 on Tuesday. Nucor has a 52 week low of $133.42 and a 52 week high of $203.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $150.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.06. The company has a market capitalization of $34.27 billion, a PE ratio of 8.41 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.31 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $8.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.69 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 10.45%. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was down 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.81 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Nucor will post 9.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a $0.54 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 12.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Argus raised shares of Nucor to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Nucor in a research report on Monday, May 20th. They set a hold rating and a $190.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Nucor from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $174.00 in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Nucor from $185.00 to $175.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $195.00.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 8,624 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $1,379,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 99,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,847,840. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Nucor Company Profile

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.