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6 Reasons that Make Schnitzer Steel an Attractive Pick Now

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Schnitzer Steel’s stock looks promising at the moment. We are positive on the company’s prospects and believe that the time is right for you to add the stock to portfolio as it looks promising and is poised to carry the momentum ahead.

Let’s delve deeper into the factors that make this steel maker an attractive investment option.

What’s Working in Favor of Schnitzer Steel?

An Outperformer: Schnitzer Steel has outperformed the Zacks categorized Steel-Producers industry over a year. The company’s shares have rallied around 30.5% over this period, compared with roughly 28.8% gain recorded by the industry.  



 

Estimates Moving Up: Annual estimates for Schnitzer Steel have moved north over the past 60 days, reflecting analysts’ confidence on the stock. Over this period, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2017 has increased by around 16.5% to $1.20 per share. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fiscal 2018 has also moved up 8.2% over the same timeframe to $1.45.

Solid Rank & VGM Score: Schnitzer Steel currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) and a Value Growth Momentum Score (VGM Score) of ‘B’. Our research shows that stocks with a VGM Score of ‘A’ or ‘B’ combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) or #2, offer the best investment opportunities for investors. Thus, the company appears to be a compelling investment proposition at the moment.

Positive Earnings Surprise History: Schnitzer Steel has an impressive earnings surprise history. The company has outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate in three of the trailing four quarters, delivering a positive average earnings surprise of 73.3%.

Healthy Growth Prospects: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings for Schnitzer Steel for fiscal 2017 is currently pegged at $1.20, reflecting an expected year-over-year growth of 73.9%. Moreover, earnings are expected to register a 20.4% growth in fiscal 2018.

Upbeat Q3 Guidance: Schnitzer Steel expects its earnings from continuing operations for third-quarter fiscal 2017 (ended May 31, 2017) to be in the range of 56-60 cents per share and adjusted earnings to be in the band of 52-56 cents per share. These reflect a marked increase from second-quarter fiscal 2017 earnings of 40 cents per share and adjusted earnings of 37 cents per share as well as earnings of 41 cents per share and adjusted earnings of 46 cents per share recorded in the prior-year quarter.

The company sees operating income for its core Auto and Metals Recycling (“AMR”) unit to be in the range of $29-$30 million. This reflects around 12% increase on a sequential comparison basis and a 10% rise from the prior year quarter. The division is benefiting from the company’s cost reduction and productivity initiatives, operating synergies and healthy demand across export and domestic markets.

Schnitzer Steel remains focused on growing its ferrous volumes, expanding margins, investing in technologies and systems to enhance product offerings and improving operational efficiency, which should lend supports to its results.

Other Stocks to Consider

Other top-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include Huntsman Corporation (HUN - Free Report) , The Chemours Company (CC - Free Report) and BASF SE (BASFY - Free Report) , all sporting a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Huntsman has an expected long-term earnings growth of 7%.

BASF has expected long-term growth of 8.9%.

Chemours has an expected long-term earnings growth of 15.5%.

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See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


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BASF SE (BASFY) - free report >>

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