Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Releases Q1 Earnings Guidance

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

Nucor Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NUE traded down $1.63 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $129.42. The company had a trading volume of 2,792,286 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,824,183. The company has a market capitalization of $29.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. Nucor has a one year low of $112.25 and a one year high of $203.00. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $130.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.07.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.28. Nucor had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 6.60%. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Nucor will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NUE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $156.00 target price (down from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Nucor from $240.00 to $160.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Nucor from $150.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Nucor from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $164.33.

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.