Zacks Research Has Pessimistic Outlook of Nucor Q1 Earnings

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research decreased their Q1 2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Nucor in a report released on Thursday, April 9th. Zacks Research analyst Team now anticipates that the basic materials company will earn $2.71 per share for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $2.77. The consensus estimate for Nucor’s current full-year earnings is $7.64 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Nucor’s Q3 2026 earnings at $2.94 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $2.09 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $10.93 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $3.23 EPS, Q3 2027 earnings at $3.43 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $12.88 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $13.60 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on NUE. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Nucor from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Nucor in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Nucor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $190.30.

Nucor Price Performance

NUE stock opened at $184.08 on Friday. Nucor has a twelve month low of $105.92 and a twelve month high of $196.90. The company has a current ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $161.56. The company has a market capitalization of $41.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.73.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $7.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.93 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 5.37% and a return on equity of 8.26%. Nucor’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Stance Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Reflection Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Nucor in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 7,568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.50, for a total value of $1,426,568.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 67,711 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,763,523.50. This trade represents a 10.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 7,452 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.02, for a total value of $1,460,741.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 76,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,020,620.56. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 26,401 shares of company stock valued at $4,936,152. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Nucor declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to reacquire up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.71%.

About Nucor

Nucor Corporation (NYSE: NUE) is an American steel producer headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company is primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of steel and steel products, operating a network of steel mills, recycling facilities and fabrication plants across the United States and North America. Nucor’s operations emphasize electric arc furnace steelmaking using recycled scrap metal, which supports a decentralized, mill-based production model focused on efficiency and flexibility.

Product offerings span a broad range of basic and value?added steel items, including sheet, plate, merchant bar, structural beams, reinforcing bar, tubing, fasteners and fabricated components.