Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.16 EPS

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The basic materials company reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.62 by ($0.16), RTT News reports. Nucor had a net margin of 12.40% and a return on equity of 19.67%. The firm had revenue of $8.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.45 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Nucor updated its Q2 guidance to below $3.46 EPS.

Nucor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NUE traded down $1.98 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $172.66. 1,288,464 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,423,215. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $191.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.43 billion, a PE ratio of 10.23 and a beta of 1.61. Nucor has a 12 month low of $129.79 and a 12 month high of $203.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 2.35 and a current ratio of 3.57.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. This represents a $2.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Nucor’s payout ratio is 12.71%.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total transaction of $1,025,035.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 85,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,902,206.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 10,000 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.19, for a total transaction of $1,901,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 80,902 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,386,751.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 5,500 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.37, for a total transaction of $1,025,035.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 85,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,902,206.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,151 shares of company stock valued at $7,308,683 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 target price for the company. Citigroup upgraded shares of Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $240.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Nucor from $195.00 to $190.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $193.14.

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.