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Nucor (NUE) Sees Record Q4 Earnings on Steel Mills Unit Strength

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Nucor Corporation (NUE - Free Report) issued its guidance for the fourth quarter of 2021. It projects earnings in the band of $7.65-$7.75 per share. It expects that the fourth quarter will mark the highest quarterly earnings in Nucor’s history, surpassing the third-quarter 2021’s record of $7.28.

The earnings in the steel mills segment remain strong in the fourth quarter, Nucor noted. It is projected to be comparable to third-quarter levels, despite the company encountering lower volumes due to year-end seasonality.

The company anticipates fourth-quarter earnings in the steel products segment to increase, driven by strong demand in non-residential construction. Earnings in the raw material segment are projected to decline in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter’s tally, mainly due to margin compression in its direct-reduced iron facilities.

Nucor sees strong demand in most of its end markets. The company is confident that 2022 will be another year of strong profitability for Nucor.

The company also stated that during the fourth quarter, it repurchased around 13.5 million shares at an average price of $111.63 per share. This brings the year-to-date total to 33.8 million shares at an average price of $96.92 per share. So far this year, Nucor has returned more than $3.7 billion to shareholders in the form of share repurchases and dividend payments.

Shares of Nucor have surged 95.2% in the past year compared with a 33.8% rise of the industry.

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Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Nucor currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Celanese Corporation (CE - Free Report) , The Chemours Company (CC - Free Report) and AdvanSix Inc. (ASIX - Free Report) .

Celanese has an expected earnings growth rate of 139.5% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings has been revised 8.7% upward in the past 60 days.

Celanese beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in each of the last four quarters. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 12.7%, on average. The stock has increased 22.1% in a year. CE currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.

Chemours has an expected earnings growth rate of 105.1% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current year has been revised 10% upward in the past 60 days.

Chemours beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in all of the last four quarters. The company has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 34.2%, on average. CC has increased 17.4% over a year. Chemours currently sports a Zacks Rank #1.

AdvanSix has a projected earnings growth rate of 194.5% for the current year. ASIX's consensus estimate for the current year has been revised 5.9% upward in the past 60 days.

AdvanSix beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in each of the trailing four quarters, the average being 46.9%. ASIX has rallied 119.5% in a year. AdvanSix currently sports a Zacks Rank #1.


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