Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.28 EPS

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) released its earnings results on Monday. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28, Zacks reports. Nucor had a net margin of 8.05% and a return on equity of 12.06%.

Nucor Stock Performance

NUE stock traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $121.98. The company had a trading volume of 3,017,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,383,082. Nucor has a fifty-two week low of $112.25 and a fifty-two week high of $203.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.61, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $130.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $143.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.64 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 1.60.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.54. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NUE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Nucor from $150.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Nucor from $168.00 to $152.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Nucor from $170.00 to $166.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 target price (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $163.63.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, CEO Leon J. Topalian sold 11,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.11, for a total transaction of $1,860,210.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,109,918.96. This trade represents a 6.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 4,712 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.53, for a total value of $798,825.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 82,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,923,837.96. This trade represents a 5.43 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,680 shares of company stock worth $4,773,724 in the last ninety days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.