Nucor (NUE) Competitors

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) and Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) are both large-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, institutional ownership, risk, valuation, profitability and dividends.

Which has higher valuation & earnings, NUE or STLD?

Nucor has higher revenue and earnings than Steel Dynamics. Steel Dynamics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Nucor, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nucor	$30.81B	1.03	$2.03B	$5.54	24.89
Steel Dynamics	$17.54B	1.03	$1.54B	$6.86	17.79

Which has more volatility & risk, NUE or STLD?

Nucor has a beta of 1.74, indicating that its share price is 74% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Steel Dynamics has a beta of 1.38, indicating that its share price is 38% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders and institutionals believe in NUE or STLD?

76.5% of Nucor shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.4% of Steel Dynamics shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Nucor shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 6.3% of Steel Dynamics shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is NUE or STLD more profitable?

Steel Dynamics has a net margin of 6.07% compared to Nucor's net margin of 4.21%. Steel Dynamics' return on equity of 11.88% beat Nucor's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nucor	4.21%	6.65%	4.15%
Steel Dynamics	6.07%	11.88%	6.71%

Does the media prefer NUE or STLD?

In the previous week, Nucor had 16 more articles in the media than Steel Dynamics. MarketBeat recorded 30 mentions for Nucor and 14 mentions for Steel Dynamics. Steel Dynamics' average media sentiment score of 1.53 beat Nucor's score of 1.09 indicating that Steel Dynamics is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Nucor	21 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Steel Dynamics	13 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Do analysts recommend NUE or STLD?

Nucor presently has a consensus price target of $157.13, indicating a potential upside of 13.94%. Steel Dynamics has a consensus price target of $149.33, indicating a potential upside of 22.33%. Given Steel Dynamics' higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Steel Dynamics is more favorable than Nucor.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nucor	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	7 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.13
Steel Dynamics	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.73

Is NUE or STLD a better dividend stock?

Nucor pays an annual dividend of $2.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Steel Dynamics pays an annual dividend of $2.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Nucor pays out 39.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Steel Dynamics pays out 29.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Nucor has raised its dividend for 52 consecutive years and Steel Dynamics has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Steel Dynamics is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Steel Dynamics beats Nucor on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.