Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Insider Michael Keller Sells 4,554 Shares

Key Points

• Insider sale: Nucor director Michael Keller sold 4,554 shares on May 4 at an average price of $225.86 for about $1.03M, cutting his stake by 21.29% to 16,834 shares valued near $3.80M.
• Strong Q1 results: Nucor reported $3.23 EPS vs. $2.82 expected and revenue of $9.50B (up ~21.3% YoY), prompting several analyst price-target upgrades and a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $243.80.
• Shareholder returns: The board authorized a $4.0B buyback (≈9.7% of shares) and the company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.56 ($2.24 annualized, ~1.0% yield), signaling management's shareholder-friendly stance.

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) insider Michael Keller sold 4,554 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.86, for a total value of $1,028,566.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 16,834 shares in the company, valued at $3,802,127.24. This represents a 21.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Nucor Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NUE stock traded up $2.23 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $234.30. The company had a trading volume of 753,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,665,146. Nucor Corporation has a 12 month low of $106.21 and a 12 month high of $235.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $169.89. The company has a market cap of $53.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.87.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.82 by $0.41. Nucor had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 6.82%.The company had revenue of $9.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.77 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Nucor Corporation will post 13.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, February 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to reacquire up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.18%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on NUE shares. UBS Group lowered Nucor from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $224.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $260.00 in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Nucor from $213.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Nucor from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Nucor from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $243.80.

Key Stories Impacting Nucor

Here are the key news stories impacting Nucor this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q1 results and revenue beat underpin upside expectations — Nucor reported $3.23 EPS vs. $2.82 expected and ~21% YoY revenue growth, supporting the recent rally and higher analyst targets.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher price targets — BNP Paribas Exane raised its target to $248 and maintained an "outperform" rating, adding to other recent upward revisions that lift consensus valuation. BNP Paribas raises price target
• Positive Sentiment: Share repurchase and dividend — the board authorized a $4.0B buyback (up to ~9.7% of shares) and Nucor pays a quarterly dividend (annualized $2.24), both shareholder‑friendly moves that support the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional ownership and solid balance sheet — roughly 76% institutional ownership, low leverage (D/E ~0.30) and healthy liquidity ratios make headline-driven volatility less likely to become a sustained trend.
• Negative Sentiment: Large insider sale — EVP David Sumoski sold 33,068 shares (~$7.46M at ~$225.67), trimming his position by ~12%, which can be perceived negatively by the market. Form 4 — Sumoski
• Negative Sentiment: Additional executive selling — EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 12,888 shares (~$2.91M) and EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,096 shares (~$2.28M), further reducing insider holdings and potentially signaling tax‑ or liquidity‑driven exits. Form 4 — Needham Form 4 — Behr
• Negative Sentiment: Smaller executive sales — EVP Noah Hanners and director Michael Keller sold 6,472 and 4,554 shares respectively; multiple contemporaneous sales increase attention on insider activity. Form 4 — Hanners Form 4 — Keller

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. RKL Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 0.9% in the first quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,318 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $899,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Empirical Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Krilogy Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,306 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 2,011 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Nucor Company Profile

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.

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