Zacks Research Issues Optimistic Forecast for Nucor Earnings

Key Points

• Zacks Research has raised its Q3 2025 earnings estimate for Nucor to $2.46 per share, slightly up from the previous estimate of $2.45, with a full-year earnings forecast of $7.80 for FY2025.
• Nucor reported a quarterly earnings of $2.60 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations of $2.54, while revenue reached $8.46 billion, only slightly below the projected $8.47 billion.
• The stock has a Moderate Buy consensus rating, with a price target averaging around $155.78, suggesting potential for growth despite some analysts lowering their price targets.

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Nucor in a report issued on Thursday, August 14th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the basic materials company will post earnings of $2.46 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $2.45. The consensus estimate for Nucor's current full-year earnings is $7.64 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Nucor's FY2025 earnings at $7.80 EPS.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group cut their price target on Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $140.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $155.78.

Nucor Price Performance

NYSE NUE traded up $1.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $145.91. The stock had a trading volume of 1,381,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,472,021. Nucor has a 52-week low of $97.59 and a 52-week high of $170.52. 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $127.02. 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 (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The basic materials company reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $8.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.47 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 6.65% and a net margin of 4.21%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.68 EPS.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Nucor's payout ratio is 39.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,088 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.87, for a total value of $906,342.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 99,379 shares in the company, valued at $12,707,592.73. The trade was a 6.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.37, for a total value of $1,303,700.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 94,080 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,265,209.60. The trade was a 9.61% 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 in the last 90 days. 0.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 2nd quarter worth $341,000. L1 Capital Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 2nd quarter worth $658,000. Pitcairn Co. increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 34.1% during the 2nd quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 2,366 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 601 shares during the last quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 2,566.7% during the 2nd quarter. Hollencrest Capital Management now owns 4,000 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $518,000 after buying an additional 3,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Nucor during the 2nd quarter worth $84,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.