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Nucor (NUE) Laps the Stock Market: Here's Why

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The latest trading session saw Nucor (NUE - Free Report) ending at $130.86, denoting a +0.74% adjustment from its last day's close. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.49%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.2%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 1.22%.

Shares of the steel company have depreciated by 5.94% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Basic Materials sector's loss of 2.81% and outperforming the S&P 500's loss of 8.15%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Nucor in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is forecasted to report an EPS of $1.19, showcasing a 65.61% downward movement from the corresponding quarter of the prior year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $7.21 billion, indicating a 11.43% decline compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $7.64 per share and a revenue of $30.31 billion, representing changes of -14.16% and -1.39%, respectively, from the prior year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Nucor. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.72% lower. Nucor is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Digging into valuation, Nucor currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 17. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 12.02 for its industry.

It is also worth noting that NUE currently has a PEG ratio of 0.89. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. As of the close of trade yesterday, the Steel - Producers industry held an average PEG ratio of 1.09.

The Steel - Producers industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 221, putting it in the bottom 12% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.


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