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 EPS guidance of $0.50-0.60 for the period, compared to the consensus EPS estimate of $1.06.

Nucor Price Performance

NYSE:NUE opened at $122.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 2.51 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market cap of $28.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $130.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.80. Nucor has a 1-year low of $112.25 and a 1-year high of $203.00.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 27th. The basic materials company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the business earned $3.16 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.80%. Nucor’s payout ratio is 26.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on NUE. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective (down previously from $171.00) on shares of Nucor in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $154.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Argus set a $155.00 price objective on shares of Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $190.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Nucor from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Nucor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.33.

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.