Short Interest in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) Expands By 21.9%

Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 5,051,295 shares, an increase of 21.9% from the December 15th total of 4,142,648 shares. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,552,502 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,552,502 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Stephen D. Laxton sold 2,003 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.57, for a total transaction of $303,594.71. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 88,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,364,533.18. The trade was a 2.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Allen C. Behr sold 9,042 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total value of $1,367,873.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 73,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,143,436.08. This represents a 10.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 25,995 shares of company stock worth $3,990,634 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.71% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nucor

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stance Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Nucor in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Nucor by 51.4% in the second quarter. IMA Advisory Services Inc. now owns 221 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co grew its stake in shares of Nucor by 53.8% in the second quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 240 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. AXS Investments LLC bought a new position in Nucor during the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC raised its stake in Nucor by 281.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC now owns 271 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on NUE. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Nucor in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Nucor from $182.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $176.00 target price on shares of Nucor in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. UBS Group increased their target price on Nucor from $165.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on Nucor from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.27.

Nucor Stock Down 0.2%

NUE traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $173.96. 550,212 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,608,085. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 2.77 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company has a market cap of $39.81 billion, a PE ratio of 24.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.87. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $161.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $148.41. Nucor has a one year low of $97.59 and a one year high of $175.94.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The basic materials company reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.30 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $8.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.27 billion. Nucor had a net margin of 5.18% and a return on equity of 7.80%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share. Nucor has set its Q4 2025 guidance at -2.630 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Nucor will post 7.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.56 per share. This is a boost from Nucor’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Nucor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.46%.

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.