Zacks Research Brokers Increase Earnings Estimates for Nucor

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research boosted their Q2 2026 EPS estimates for Nucor in a report issued on Thursday, August 14th. Zacks Research analyst Team now expects that the basic materials company will earn $3.03 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $3.02. The consensus estimate for Nucor's current full-year earnings is $7.64 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Nucor's Q3 2026 earnings at $2.75 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $9.30 EPS, Q2 2027 earnings at $3.23 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $12.72 EPS.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Nucor to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $134.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $155.78.

Nucor Stock Up 0.9%

NUE stock traded up $1.26 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $145.91. 1,382,729 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,732,602. The company has a market cap of $33.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.74. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $136.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $127.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Nucor has a 52 week low of $97.59 and a 52 week high of $170.52.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.54 by $0.06. Nucor had a net margin of 4.21% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The business had revenue of $8.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.68 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.37, for a total value of $1,303,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 94,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,265,209.60. This represents a 9.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 8,021 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.38, for a total transaction of $1,150,050.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 82,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,857,956.14. The trade was a 8.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 25,109 shares of company stock worth $3,360,094 over the last quarter. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of NUE. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Nucor by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,171,068 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,778,820,000 after acquiring an additional 211,741 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Nucor by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,501,779 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,626,321,000 after buying an additional 371,911 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new stake in Nucor during the 2nd quarter valued at $856,792,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Nucor during the 2nd quarter valued at $479,858,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Nucor by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,309,452 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $277,920,000 after buying an additional 355,364 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.