Zacks Research Weighs in on Nucor's Q3 Earnings (NYSE:NUE)

Key Points

• Zacks Research raised its Q3 2025 earnings estimate for Nucor to $2.45 per share, exceeding their previous forecast of $2.44, while the full-year consensus stands at $7.64 per share.
• Nucor's recent earnings report showed a quarterly earnings per share of $2.60, surpassing analysts' expectations, but revenue fell slightly short with $8.46 billion compared to the anticipated $8.47 billion.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of Nucor's stock, with significant increases in holdings by clients like Vanguard Group and First Trust Advisors.

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q3 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Nucor in a note issued to investors on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the basic materials company will earn $2.45 per share for the quarter, up from their prior forecast of $2.44. The consensus estimate for Nucor's current full-year earnings is $7.64 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Nucor's Q4 2025 earnings at $1.96 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.78 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.20 EPS and Q1 2027 earnings at $4.16 EPS.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $8.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.47 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 4.21% and a return on equity of 6.65%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Nucor from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Nucor from $153.00 to $147.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Nucor from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective 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 sell rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $157.13.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE opened at $139.11 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $133.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $126.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.11, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.74. Nucor has a one year low of $97.59 and a one year high of $170.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.83 and a quick ratio of 1.51.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,959,327 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,484,965,000 after purchasing an additional 745,671 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,404,477 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $280,627,000 after buying an additional 474,274 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Nucor by 10.6% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,856,100 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $244,059,000 after buying an additional 177,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Nucor by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,772,831 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $213,342,000 after purchasing an additional 92,363 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Nucor

In related news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 8,021 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.38, for a total value of $1,150,050.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 82,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,857,956.14. This represents a 8.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 7,088 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.87, for a total transaction of $906,342.56. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 99,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,707,592.73. The trade was a 6.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,109 shares of company stock worth $3,360,094. Insiders own 0.71% of the company's stock.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.71%.

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.

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