Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Releases Q1 Earnings Guidance

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) updated its first quarter earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share (EPS) guidance of $0.50-0.60 for the period, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on NUE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.33.

Nucor Stock Down 1.2 %

NUE stock opened at $129.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $29.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.39, a P/E/G ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $130.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $138.01. Nucor has a 1-year low of $112.25 and a 1-year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a net margin of 6.60% and a return on equity of 9.85%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.16 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. Nucor’s payout ratio is 26.16%.

Nucor Company Profile

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.