Alpha Wealth Funds LLC Makes New Investment in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• Alpha Wealth Funds LLC bought a new position in Nucor, acquiring 5,007 shares valued at about $848,000, which represents 0.5% of its portfolio and is the firm's 18th-largest holding.
• Nucor beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $3.23 (vs. $2.82 expected) and $9.5 billion in revenue, and analysts have raised ratings and targets — consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $240.
• The board authorized a $4.0 billion share repurchase (up to 9.7% of outstanding shares) and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.56 (annualized $2.24, ~1.0% yield).

Alpha Wealth Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,007 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $848,000. Nucor accounts for 0.5% of Alpha Wealth Funds LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NUE. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Nucor by 580.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 653,845 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $84,699,000 after purchasing an additional 557,819 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Nucor by 20.1% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,042,761 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $412,081,000 after purchasing an additional 509,019 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its stake in Nucor by 169.0% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 779,940 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $127,216,000 after purchasing an additional 489,950 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in Nucor by 494.5% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 434,511 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $70,873,000 after purchasing an additional 361,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in Nucor by 146.9% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 548,911 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $74,339,000 after purchasing an additional 326,572 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.48% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NUE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Nucor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on shares of Nucor from $185.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Nucor in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. They issued a "sector weight" rating on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Nucor from $190.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Nucor from $240.00 to $260.00 in a research note on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $240.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nucor

In related news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 7,452 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.02, for a total value of $1,460,741.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 76,628 shares in the company, valued at $15,020,620.56. The trade was a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David A. Sumoski sold 33,068 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $225.67, for a total transaction of $7,462,455.56. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 243,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,914,312.13. This trade represents a 11.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Nucor Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Nucor stock opened at $225.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a current ratio of 2.90. Nucor Corporation has a 52-week low of $106.21 and a 52-week high of $227.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.87. The company's 50 day moving average price is $180.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.22.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 27th. The basic materials company reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.82 by $0.41. Nucor had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The firm had revenue of $9.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.77 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Nucor Corporation will post 13.64 EPS for the current year.

Nucor Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a $0.56 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Nucor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.18%.

Nucor announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, February 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to buy up to 9.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Nucor Company Profile

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.

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