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Nucor (NUE) Steel Longview Plate Mill to Cease Production

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Nucor Corporation (NUE - Free Report) has announced that it will reorganize its plate group, including the closure of production at Nucor Steel Longview, LLC. All Nucor Steel Longview teammates will be offered jobs at other Nucor divisions.

The mill, which Nucor purchased in 2016 for around $29 million, manufactures heavy steel plates and has a rated annual capacity of 100,000 tons. Longview assets will be reviewed and deployed across Nucor's mills as required.

Nucor expects production to be phased off in the third quarter of 2023. Production will be moved to Nucor's other plate mills, including the company's new state-of-the-art plate mill in Brandenburg, KY, which started operating earlier this year. The Brandenburg mill will manufacture discrete, coiled and heat-treated plates in widths ranging from 60 to 168 inches and gauges ranging from 3/16 to 14 inches.

Nucor's plate group is well-placed to supply the market with reliable, high-quality, sustainable steel plate products, thanks to its discrete plate mill in Hertford County, NC, cut-to-length and discrete mill in Tuscaloosa, AL, and the recent addition of the Brandenburg mill.

Shares of Nucor have gained 1.2% over the past year compared with a 2.9% decline of its industry.

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Nucor, on its first-quarter call, said that it envisions earnings to rise sequentially in the second quarter of 2023.

Nucor expects earnings in the steel mills segment to be higher sequentially in the second quarter, mainly due to increased margins at its sheet mills.

The steel products segment’s profitability is projected to fall sequentially in the second quarter as lower average selling prices are expected to offset increased volumes. The company expects raw materials segment earnings to rise in the second quarter from the first quarter due to increased profitability at DRI facilities.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

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

Better-ranked stocks to consider in the basic materials space include Alamos Gold Inc. (AGI - Free Report) , Koppers Holdings Inc. (KOP - Free Report) and Linde plc (LIN - Free Report) . You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Alamos currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings for AGI is currently pegged at 46 cents, implying year-over-year growth of 64.3%. Alamos beat Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 16.7%, on average. AGI has gained around 62.7% in a year.

Koppers currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for current-year earnings for KOP is currently pegged at $4.40, suggesting year-over-year growth of 6.3%. It has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of roughly 13.64%, on average. KOP has gained around 15.7% in a year.

Linde currently carries a Zacks Rank #2. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LIN’s current-year earnings has been revised 3.8% upward in the past 60 days. Linde beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. It delivered a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 6.9% on average. LIN’s shares have gained roughly 11.3% in the past year.

 


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