📈 Nucor Corporation, one of America’s premier steel producers, just got a boost from UBS, with analyst Andrew Jones shifting his rating from ‘Neutral’ to ‘Buy’ and lifting the price target to $160. The catalyst? U.S. trade policy. The recent reinstatement of 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports has triggered a sharp rise in benchmark steel prices—from $750 to around $900 per ton. UBS expects prices to stabilize near $800, setting the stage for Nucor to enjoy an earnings windfall in the near term.
📊 Investors responded swiftly. Shares surged over 5% following the upgrade, reflecting renewed confidence in Nucor’s pricing power and margin expansion. With robust demand and a more favorable pricing environment, UBS believes Nucor is uniquely positioned to capitalize.
📎 What’s also playing in Nucor’s favor is its efficiency. As a low-cost operator in the electric arc furnace space, the company is better insulated against raw material volatility than some of its peers, further reinforcing the bullish stance from analysts.
Dividend Fundamentals
💵 Nucor is as steady as they come on the dividend front. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.55 per share at the close of 2024, marking an impressive 52 consecutive years of dividend growth. It’s a cornerstone for dividend investors who want both consistency and room for growth.
📌 With a dividend yield of around 1.7% and an annual payout of $2.20 per share, Nucor remains shareholder-friendly. Even better, its payout ratio is a conservative 11%, which means the company retains plenty of capital to reinvest in operations while continuing to reward investors.
🧱 Between the tailwind of rising steel prices and the firm’s shareholder-friendly posture, Nucor looks poised for a strong run—making UBS’s upgrade more than just a rating shift. It’s a signal that this industrial heavyweight is entering a favorable cycle at just the right time.