Nucor (NYSE:NUE) Updates Q1 2026 Earnings Guidance

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) issued an update on its first quarter 2026 earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 2.700-2.800 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 2.760. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on NUE shares. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Nucor in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $210.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Nucor from $190.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Seaport Research Partners increased their target price on Nucor from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Nucor from $194.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Nucor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $184.00 to $190.00 in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.80.

Nucor Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE NUE opened at $186.19 on Friday. Nucor has a twelve month low of $105.92 and a twelve month high of $196.90. The stock has a market cap of $42.38 billion, a PE ratio of 24.69, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $161.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.94.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.18). The firm had revenue of $7.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.93 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 5.37% and a return on equity of 8.26%. The company’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Nucor will post 7.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.56 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Nucor’s payout ratio is currently 29.71%.

Nucor declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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 purchase up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Nucor news, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 7,568 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.50, for a total transaction of $1,426,568.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 67,711 shares in the company, valued at $12,763,523.50. The trade was a 10.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 3,881 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total transaction of $690,818.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 88,298 shares in the company, valued at $15,717,044. This trade represents a 4.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 26,401 shares of company stock valued at $4,936,152 over the last ninety days. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Nucor

Here are the key news stories impacting Nucor this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Jefferies raised its price target on Nucor to $225 (from $200) and reiterated a Buy rating — signaling roughly 20% upside from recent levels and likely supporting bullish investor flows. Jefferies price-target raise
• Neutral Sentiment: Nucor reiterated first-quarter 2026 EPS guidance of $2.70–$2.80 versus a consensus of $2.76 — essentially in line but leaving little margin for upside relative to expectations. This keeps near-term results tightly scrutinized by the market.
• Neutral Sentiment: Media/features: A Motley Fool article highlights Nucor’s investment case and long-term strengths (management, cash flow, steel market exposure). These pieces can support longer-term interest but are less likely to move the stock intraday. Fool feature
• Neutral Sentiment: A separate press release from a small Calgary energy company using the ticker NUE (NU E Power Corp.) is unrelated to Nucor but can cause ticker-search noise; investors should confirm NYSE:NUE references. NU E Power website launch
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research issued multiple estimate revisions: it trimmed several near-term quarterly EPS forecasts (Q1 2026, Q1 2027, Q3 2026/Q3 2027 and FY2027) while raising FY2026 and FY2028 projections and lifting Q4 2026 — an overall mixed-but-tilted-downward revision for FY2027. The net effect increases uncertainty on multi-quarter demand and near-term earnings, which could cap upside despite the price-target lift.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Nucor during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Compound Planning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 4,668 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $761,000 after buying an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Nucor by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,803 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,599,000 after buying an additional 1,442 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Nucor by 84.9% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 100,440 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $16,383,000 after buying an additional 46,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.48% of the company’s stock.

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.