Nucor’s (NUE) “Hold” Rating Reiterated at Freedom Broker

Freedom Broker reiterated their hold rating on shares of Nucor (NYSE:NUE) in a report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $285.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $305.00.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on NUE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Nucor from $294.00 to $308.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Nucor from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Nucor from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Seaport Research Partners upped their price objective on Nucor from $245.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Nucor from $285.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.79.

Nucor Stock Performance

NYSE NUE opened at $249.03 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $254.95 and a 200-day moving average of $227.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 2.51. The stock has a market cap of $56.50 billion, a PE ratio of 19.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.87. Nucor has a 52-week low of $131.32 and a 52-week high of $280.11.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The basic materials company reported $4.84 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.46 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $10.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.15 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 12.73%. Nucor’s quarterly revenue was up 23.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 18.52 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be issued a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In related news, COO Stephen Laxton sold 3,968 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.96, for a total transaction of $1,019,617.28. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 77,867 shares in the company, valued at $20,008,704.32. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Thomas Batterbee sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.02, for a total transaction of $1,044,080.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,212,340.76. This represents a 19.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nucor

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Nucor in the second quarter worth approximately $4,452,563,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $609,002,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the second quarter valued at approximately $462,886,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Nucor by 0.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,539,044 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $429,298,000 after acquiring an additional 22,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought a new stake in shares of Nucor during the second quarter valued at approximately $413,814,000. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Nucor this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Nucor projected third-quarter EPS of $5.55–$5.65, above the $2.63 reported in the year-ago quarter and slightly above its $5.04 second-quarter result. Management expects stronger performance in its steel mills and steel products businesses, supported by improved realized prices and volumes. Nucor Expects Q3 Earnings To Be Higher YoY, Sequentially
• Positive Sentiment: The board declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.56 per share, payable November 10 to shareholders of record September 30. It is Nucor’s 214th consecutive quarterly cash dividend, reinforcing the company’s shareholder-return record. Nucor Announces 214th Consecutive Cash Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Freedom Broker reaffirmed a “hold” rating but reduced its price target from $305 to $285, still implying potential upside from the current trading level. Broader analyst targets remain mixed but generally above the share price.
• Negative Sentiment: The central pressure on NUE is that the Q3 EPS forecast fell below Wall Street expectations, variously reported near $5.99–$6.17. The shortfall overshadowed the projected year-over-year and sequential improvement. Nucor Announces Guidance for the Third Quarter of 2026 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Investors also reacted to higher costs and the absence of a roughly $130 million cash refund that benefited the prior quarter, making the upcoming results comparison more difficult even with firm steel prices and demand. Steel Dynamics issued similarly disappointing guidance, intensifying concerns across the steel sector. Steel Dynamics and Nucor Fall as Guidance Disappoints
• Negative Sentiment: A broader market backdrop of higher oil prices and bond yields also weighed on equities, while reported insider activity showed selling and no insider purchases over the past six months.

About Nucor

Nucor Corporation is a Charlotte, North Carolina-based steel and steel products company. It manufactures carbon, alloy and stainless steel products, including sheet, plate, bar, structural steel, rail, wire rod, rebar and merchant bar. The company also produces steel joists, deck, beams, piling, wire products, fasteners, grating, metal building systems and other fabricated steel products.

Nucor operates an integrated network of electric arc furnace steel mills, recycling facilities and downstream manufacturing operations.