Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $235.44 and last traded at $234.4190, with a volume of 256353 shares. The stock had previously closed at $229.83.

Key Nucor News

Here are the key news stories impacting Nucor this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks added Nucor to its Rank #1 (Strong Buy) list, which can attract momentum and growth-focused investors. New Strong Buy Stocks for May 13th
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research sharply raised earnings estimates across multiple periods for Nucor, including FY2026, FY2027, and FY2028, suggesting a stronger profit outlook. Nucor earnings estimates update
• Positive Sentiment: The stock was also highlighted as a top momentum name, with Zacks noting that Nucor might continue moving higher in the near term due to solid estimate revisions. Why Nucor (NUE) Might be Well Poised for a Surge
• Neutral Sentiment: Another Zacks note said Nucor has gained modestly over the past week and is being screened as a possible momentum stock, reinforcing the recent positive trading tone. Nucor (NUE) Is Up 0.65% in One Week: What You Should Know

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NUE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Seaport Research Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Nucor from $196.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Nucor from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Nucor from $180.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, UBS Group lowered Nucor from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $190.00 to $224.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Nucor has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $243.80.

Nucor Trading Up 1.4%

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $187.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.90 and a quick ratio of 1.55. The firm has a market cap of $53.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.87.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $9.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.88 billion. Nucor had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 6.82%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Nucor Corporation will post 13.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.18%.

Nucor announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to purchase up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 12,888 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.00, for a total transaction of $2,912,688.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 89,724 shares in the company, valued at $20,277,624. The trade was a 12.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael D. Keller sold 4,554 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.86, for a total value of $1,028,566.44. Following the sale, the insider owned 16,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,802,127.24. The trade was a 21.29% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 69,318 shares of company stock valued at $15,672,093. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Nucor

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. RKL Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Nucor by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. RKL Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,318 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $899,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Nucor by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Asset Management LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $347,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Krilogy Financial LLC increased its stake in Nucor by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Nucor by 49.2% in the 1st quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 191 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Nucor by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,306 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Nucor Company Profile

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.