Nucor Projects Q3 Earnings to Decline on Lower Steel Prices
Nucor Corporation NUE issued guidance for the third quarter of 2024. The company expects earnings per share (EPS) to range between 87 cents and 97 cents. After accounting for certain one time non-cash charges totaling approximately 43 cents per share, the adjusted EPS is projected to be between $1.30 and $1.40. This marks a notable decline compared with EPS of $2.68 in second-quarter 2024 and $4.57 in third-quarter 2023.
The non-adjusted earnings guidance for third-quarter 2024 includes estimated one time non-cash pre-tax charges of around $123 million or 43 cents per share. These charges are linked to the impairment of certain non-current assets in Nucor’s raw materials and steel products segments.
Nucor Corporation Price and Consensus
Nucor Corporation price-consensus-chart | Nucor Corporation Quote
The expected decline in earnings for the third quarter, excluding one-time charges, is primarily caused by lower earnings in the steel mills segment, stemming from reduced average selling prices. The steel products segment is also expected to report lower earnings due to reduced prices and volumes. The raw materials segment is anticipated to see a decline in earnings compared with the second-quarter actuals.
During the third quarter, Nucor repurchased nearly 2.5 million shares at an average price of $156.07 per share, bringing the total repurchased shares year to date to about 11 million at an average price of $172.36. Year to date, the company returned around $2.29 billion to shareholders through buybacks and dividend payments.
Shares of Nucor are down 10.1% in a year compared with the industry’s 14.4% fall.
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NUE’s Zacks Rank & Key Picks
NUE currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are IAMGOLD Corporation IAG, Eldorado Gold Corporation EGO and Hawkins, Inc. HWKN. While IAMGOLD and Eldorado Gold sporta Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Hawkins carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for IAMGOLD’scurrent-year earnings is pegged at 41 cents per share, indicating a rise of 355.6% from the year-ago level. IAG’s earnings beat the consensus estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average surprise being 200%. The stock has surged nearly 118.6% in the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Eldorado Gold’s current year earnings is pegged at $1.35 per share, indicating a year-over-year rise of 136.8%. EGO beat the consensus estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 430.3%. The company's shares have surged nearly 73.8% in the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Hawkins’ current fiscal-year earnings is pegged at $4.14 per share, indicating a rise of 15.3% from the year-ago level. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HWKN’s current fiscal-year earnings has increased 12.8% in the past 60 days.The stock has rallied around 100.4% in the past year.
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