Compare StocksNUE vs UNH

Nucor Corporation (NUE) vs UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH)

NUE
Nucor Corporation
$161.95
VS
UNH
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
$280.44

Rewards

NUE
  • PEG ratio of 0.63 suggests the stock is undervalued relative to its growth rate — paying less than 1x for each unit of earnings growth.
  • Altman Z-Score of 4.42 indicates very low bankruptcy risk — the company is firmly in the safe zone.
UNH
  • 5 insider purchases over the past 12 months with a buy/sell ratio above 3:1 — a sustained pattern of insider confidence.
  • Dividend yield of 3.15% with a consistent or growing payout over the past 4 years.

Risks

NUE
  • ROIC has declined by 25.6 percentage points over the observed period, which may signal competitive erosion.
  • Gross margin of 12.0% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
  • Nucor Corporation scores only 29/100 on the Economic Moat Score, suggesting limited durable competitive advantages.
UNH
  • ROIC has declined by 7.9 percentage points over the observed period, which may signal competitive erosion.
  • Gross margin of 18.5% is low, suggesting a competitive or commodity-like market with limited pricing power.
  • FCF yield of 5.4% suggests reasonable valuation assuming continued moderate growth.

Key Valuation Metrics

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NUE
UNH
Valuation
$-903.37M
Free Cash Flow
$13.86B
-2.44%
FCF Yield
5.45%
21.56
Trailing P/E
21.18
11.80
Forward P/E
14.08
Quality & Moat
6.00%
ROIC
0.64%
7.88%
ROE
11.85%
12.03%
Gross Margin
18.53%
0.63
PEG Ratio
N/A
Balance Sheet Safety
0.33
Debt / Equity
0.82
N/A
Interest Coverage
N/A
1.10
Net Debt / EBITDA
2.54
1.38%
Dividend Yield
3.15%
NUE: 4Ties: 2UNH: 5
NUEUNH

Historical Fundamentals

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NUE

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

UNH

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

Price ÷ Earnings Per Share — how many years of current earnings you're paying for at today's price. Lower P/E may indicate undervaluation.

$1 Retained Earnings Test

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NUE
$0.57
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Mediocre Allocator
Σ Retained
$6.75B
Δ Market Cap
+$3.83B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer
UNH
$-7.37
created per $1 retained over 3 years
Market Cap Declined
Σ Retained
$26.63B
Δ Market Cap
$-196.16B
Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Buffett's "$1 Test": For every $1 of earnings retained, has management created at least $1 of market value?
> $1 created per $1 retained = Value Creator · < $1 created = Value Destroyer

Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Analysis

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NUE
15.4% Margin of Safety
Price is 15.4% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $161.95
Fair Value: $191.39
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued
UNH
4.9% Margin of Safety
Price is 4.9% below estimated fair value
Current Price: $280.44
Fair Value: $294.90
Strongly undervalued
Undervalued
Fairly valued
Overvalued
Strongly overvalued

Reverse DCF — Market-Implied Growth

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NUE

Requires positive FCF to compute implied growth rate.

UNH

What growth rate is the market pricing in at $280?

+11.1%
Market-Implied Owner Earnings Growth
Standard FCF implies +9.2%

The market implies +11.1% Owner Earnings growth, above historical trends.

Standard FCF implies a demanding +9.2%, reflecting heavy growth investment.

Economic Moat Score

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NUE
29/100
No Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

No durable moat detected, though reinvestment efficiency shows some competitive positioning. The business lacks consistent evidence of sustainable advantages.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.
UNH
64/100
Narrow Moat
70+ Wide · 40-69 Narrow · <40 None

Narrow moat with revenue predictability as the key competitive advantage. Improving margin stability would strengthen the moat.

Composite score measuring competitive advantage durability across four dimensions: returns above cost of capital, pricing power stability, revenue predictability, and capital efficiency. Based on 4 years of fundamental data.

Forensic Accounting

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NUE
-2.49
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.
UNH
-2.45
Unlikely Manipulator
Above -1.78 = likely manipulator · -2.22 to -1.78 = grey zone

M-Score Trend

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Beneish's 8-variable model estimates the probability of earnings manipulation. An M-Score above -1.78 signals elevated risk — companies in this range have historically been 3-5× more likely to be manipulating earnings. Scores between -2.22 and -1.78 fall in a grey zone warranting further investigation.

Ownership Breakdown

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NUE
Insiders 3.2%Institutions 78.6%Retail & Other 18.2%
No. of Institutional Holders1,740
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.
UNH
Insiders 0.8%Institutions 84.2%Retail & Other 14.9%
No. of Institutional Holders4,244
High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders — a key signal in Buffett-style analysis. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

High insider ownership aligns management incentives with shareholders. Institutional concentration can indicate smart-money conviction but also crowding risk.

Insider Buying Activity

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NUE
0
Buys (3M)
0
Buys (12M)
No open market insider purchases found.
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises
UNH
0
Buys (3M)
5
Buys (12M)
Total value (12M): $31.61M
REX JOHN F
President
$5.00M
@ $291.12 · 2025-05-16
HEMSLEY STEPHEN J
Chief Executive Officer
$25.02M
@ $288.57 · 2025-05-16
GIL KRISTEN
Director
$1.00M
@ $271.17 · 2025-05-15
FLYNN TIMOTHY PATRICK
Director
$491,786
@ $320.80 · 2025-05-14
NOSEWORTHY JOHN H
Director
$93,647
@ $312.16 · 2025-05-14
FLYNN TIMOTHY PATRICK
Director
$511,575
@ $511.57 · 2025-01-17
Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises

Open market purchases · includes direct & indirect ownership · excludes option exercises.

Insider Selling Activity

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NUE
4
Sells (3M)
17
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $24.87M
QUERY KENNETH REX
Officer
$1.46M
@ $196.02 · 2026-02-11
BEHR ALLEN C.
Officer
$2.78M
@ $184.80 · 2026-02-03
NEEDHAM DANIEL R.
Officer
$690,818
@ $178.00 · 2026-01-30
BATTERBEE THOMAS J.
Officer
$330,550
@ $165.28 · 2025-12-23
TOPALIAN LEON J
Chief Executive Officer
$789,950
@ $157.99 · 2025-12-19
BEHR ALLEN C.
Officer
$939,446
@ $157.89 · 2025-12-19
HOLLATZ JOHN J
Officer
$1.05M
@ $149.88 · 2025-11-12
BEHR ALLEN C.
Officer
$1.37M
@ $151.28 · 2025-10-30
LAXTON STEPHEN D.
Chief Financial Officer
$303,599
@ $151.57 · 2025-10-30
KELLER MICHAEL D
Officer
$903,522
@ $148.41 · 2025-08-22
QUERY KENNETH REX
Officer
$1.45M
@ $144.90 · 2025-08-18
NEEDHAM DANIEL R.
Officer
$1.05M
@ $146.00 · 2025-08-18
TOPALIAN LEON J
Chief Executive Officer
$4.27M
@ $143.27 · 2025-07-31
BEHR ALLEN C.
Officer
$1.15M
@ $143.38 · 2025-07-31
QUERY KENNETH REX
Officer
$1.30M
@ $130.37 · 2025-06-26
NEEDHAM DANIEL R.
Officer
$906,343
@ $127.87 · 2025-06-24
TOPALIAN LEON J
Chief Executive Officer
$4.11M
@ $120.19 · 2025-05-01
BEHR ALLEN C.
Officer
$793,470
@ $159.72 · 2024-11-11
TOPALIAN LEON J
Chief Executive Officer
$1.86M
@ $169.11 · 2024-11-06
MURPHY GREGORY JOSEPH
Officer
$1.04M
@ $167.82 · 2024-11-06
LAXTON STEPHEN D.
Chief Financial Officer
$798,815
@ $169.53 · 2024-11-06
QUERY KENNETH REX
Officer
$1.32M
@ $146.80 · 2024-10-29
NEEDHAM DANIEL R.
Officer
$1.38M
@ $160.00 · 2024-07-31
UTERMARK DOUGLAS CHAD
Officer
$6.46M
@ $195.33 · 2024-03-22
KELLER MICHAEL D
Officer
$609,091
@ $193.67 · 2024-03-21
JELLISON DOUGLAS J.
Officer
$3.77M
@ $193.41 · 2024-03-21
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives
UNH
0
Sells (3M)
1
Sells (12M)
Total value (12M): $179,645
CONWAY PATRICK HUGH M.D.
Chief Executive Officer
$179,645
@ $305.00 · 2025-06-10
MCSWEENEY ERIN L
Officer
$438,987
@ $626.23 · 2024-11-11
Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives

Direct ownership only · excludes indirect, option exercises, planned (10b5-1) sales & derivatives.

🎭 Mr. Market's Mood

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NUE
FearGreed
😐Neutral(49/100)

"Market is pricing this stock without strong emotion in either direction"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.
UNH
FearGreed
😨Fear(37/100)

"Market is pessimistic — investigate whether fears are temporary or structural"

Composite sentiment score based on 6 market signals. Inspired by Buffett's "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

Composite sentiment score based on market signals. Inspired by Buffett’s "Mr. Market" allegory — fear = potential opportunity, greed = potential risk. Must be used alongside fundamental analysis, not in isolation.

⚖️ Buffett Signal

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NUE
Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Neutral (49)
UNH
Awaiting DCF Data

The Buffett Signal cross-references market sentiment with DCF valuation. Configure the DCF Analysis above to generate a signal.

DCF Margin of Safety: N/AMr. Market's Mood: Fear (37)
View NUE Full AnalysisView UNH Full Analysis