Portus Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $897,000 in Nucor Corporation $NUE

Key Points

• Portus Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake of 6,621 Nucor shares, valued at approximately $897,000 in the third quarter per its 13F filing.
• Nucor's board approved a $4.00 billion share buyback (allowing repurchase of up to ~9.7% of shares) and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.56 ($2.24 annualized, ~1.4% yield) with a March 31 record date.
• Nucor reported Q earnings of $1.73 EPS, missing estimates by $0.18, but analysts remain largely positive with a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating and an average price target of $188.

Portus Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,621 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $897,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in Nucor by 5.6% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,330 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $184,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in Nucor by 1.9% during the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,099 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $531,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its position in Nucor by 1.9% in the second quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,326 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 23.2% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 425 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, True North Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Nucor by 3.9% in the third quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 2,195 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. 76.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NUE. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Nucor in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Nucor from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on shares of Nucor from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Nucor from $182.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Nucor from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Nucor has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $188.00.

Nucor Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NUE stock opened at $162.16 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.94 billion, a PE ratio of 21.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.58 and a beta of 1.83. Nucor Corporation has a 52-week low of $97.59 and a 52-week high of $196.90. The business's fifty day moving average is $176.94 and its 200 day moving average is $158.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 2.94.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.18). Nucor had a return on equity of 8.26% and a net margin of 5.37%.The business had revenue of $7.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. Nucor's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Nucor Corporation will post 7.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nucor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.56 dividend. This represents a $2.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Nucor's dividend payout ratio is 29.71%.

Nucor declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the basic materials company to reacquire up to 9.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Nucor

In other Nucor news, EVP Kenneth Rex Query sold 7,452 shares of Nucor stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.02, for a total transaction of $1,460,741.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel R. Needham sold 3,881 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total transaction of $690,818.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 88,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,717,044. This represents a 4.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 34,351 shares of company stock valued at $6,206,158 in the last ninety days. 0.71% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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