Nucor gains as stronger steel pricing supports earnings outlook

Nucor (NUE) is up 3.7% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The most likely driver is improving steel pricing, which can lift expectations for mill margins and near-term earnings. Investors were also still reacting to Nucor’s strong second-quarter results and its outlook for higher third-quarter earnings. No separate company-specific catalyst was clearly confirmed today, so part of the move could also be momentum tied to the broader steel group.

Details:

Nucor’s second-quarter net earnings rose to $1.16 billion from $743 million in the prior quarter, helped by higher average selling prices and higher volumes in its steel mills business.

The company said it expects higher consolidated earnings in the third quarter of 2026, with higher realized pricing across all major product categories and stable volumes in steel mills.

Nucor raised its published hot-rolled coil spot price again on September 1, extending a six-week streak of increases that totaled $60 per short ton, a sign of firmer market conditions.

During the second quarter, Nucor repurchased about 1.53 million shares and ended the period with $2.69 billion in cash, reinforcing its financial flexibility.

Sources:

Nucor, SEC, Steel Market Update, Yieh Corp

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$NUE Insider Trading Activity

$NUE insiders have traded $NUE stock on the open market 28 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 28 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $NUE stock by insiders over the last 6 months:

LEON J TOPALIAN (Chair and CEO) has made 0 purchases and 8 sales selling 89,500 shares for an estimated $20,686,412.
DAVID A SUMOSKI (Executive Vice President) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 33,068 shares for an estimated $7,462,307.
ALLEN C BEHR (Executive Vice President) has made 0 purchases and 5 sales selling 17,835 shares for an estimated $4,404,044.
KENNETH REX QUERY (Executive Vice President) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 13,529 shares for an estimated $3,400,843.
DANIEL R. NEEDHAM (Executive Vice President) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 12,888 shares for an estimated $2,912,688.
JOHN J HOLLATZ (Executive Vice President) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 10,560 shares for an estimated $2,729,291.
NOAH C HANNERS (Executive Vice President) sold 6,472 shares for an estimated $1,465,908
THOMAS J. BATTERBEE (Executive Vice President) sold 4,000 shares for an estimated $1,044,062
MICHAEL D KELLER (Vice Pres. and Corp. Contro) sold 4,554 shares for an estimated $1,028,566
STEPHEN D LAXTON (President and COO) sold 3,968 shares for an estimated $1,019,617
RANDY J SPICER (Executive Vice President) sold 2,500 shares for an estimated $562,500
BRADLEY FORD (Executive Vice President) has made 0 purchases and 2 sales selling 2,240 shares for an estimated $519,962.

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard. You can access data on insider stock transactions through the Quiver Quantitative API insider transaction endpoint.

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$NUE Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 742 institutional investors add shares of $NUE stock to their portfolio, and 655 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC removed 2,049,323 shares (-52.5%) from their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $456,486,698
SIXTH STREET PARTNERS MANAGEMENT COMPANY, L.P. added 1,899,235 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $423,054,596
JPMORGAN CHASE & CO added 1,421,933 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $316,735,575
ACADIAN ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC added 910,037 shares (+19621.3%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $202,710,741
BANK OF AMERICA CORP /DE/ added 845,668 shares (+68.6%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $188,372,547
SLATE PATH CAPITAL LP removed 782,700 shares (-38.3%) from their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $174,346,425
FMR LLC added 737,658 shares (+33.0%) to their portfolio in Q2 2026, for an estimated $164,313,319

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard. You can access data on hedge funds moves and 13F filings through the Quiver Quantitative API 13F endpoint.

$NUE Congressional Stock Trading

Members of Congress have traded $NUE stock 1 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 1 have been purchases and 0 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $NUE stock by members of Congress over the last 6 months:

SENATOR ALAN ARMSTRONG purchased up to $15,000 on 03/27.

To track congressional stock trading, check out Quiver Quantitative's congressional trading dashboard. You can access data on congressional stock trades through the Quiver Quantitative API Congress trades endpoint.

$NUE Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $NUE in the last several months. We have seen 1 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

JP Morgan issued a "Overweight" rating on 04/29/2026

To track analyst ratings and price targets for $NUE, check out Quiver Quantitative's $NUE forecast page.

$NUE Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $NUE recently. We have seen 10 analysts offer price targets for $NUE in the last 6 months, with a median target of $265.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Lawson Winder from B of A Securities set a target price of $280.0 on 07/09/2026
Samuel McKinney from Keybanc set a target price of $274.0 on 06/24/2026
Carlos De Alba from Morgan Stanley set a target price of $258.0 on 06/22/2026
Timna Tanners from Wells Fargo set a target price of $283.0 on 06/18/2026
Bill Peterson from JP Morgan set a target price of $282.0 on 06/10/2026
Richard Garchitorena from Barclays set a target price of $270.0 on 05/22/2026
Alexander Hacking from Citigroup set a target price of $260.0 on 04/29/2026

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.