Nucor (NUE) to Invest $58 Million to Upgrade Engineered Bar Mill
Nucor Corporation NUE recently announced that its Board has provided approval to upgrade the engineered bar mill in Nebraska. This project is being undertaken to better serve the automotive market and continue to meet the consumers’ need for highest-quality products.
The project will include a new reheat furnace, new intermediate mill, and coil inspection and trimming station. The project, worth $58-million investment, is expected to be completed and operational in fourth-quarter 2022.
On completion, the upgrade will enhance Nucor Steel Nebraska's ability to produce engineered bar and coil products with improved surface quality and reduced decarburization, which are required to meet high-end engineered bar automotive applications. The investment will also facilitate diversification of products supplied by Nucor Steel Nebraska. Moreover, this project will further its commitment to safety by enabling Nucor teammates to work away from the rolling process.
The investment is part of Nucor’s greater commercial strategy to align its product mix with current and future demand of the customers and will strengthen Nucor’s position as a leader in engineered bar and rod, the company noted.
Shares of Nucor have gained 159.7% in the past year compared with a 209.1% surge of the industry.
In its first-quarter call, Nucor stated that it expects second-quarter earnings to be the highest quarterly earnings in its history, exceeding the record-level set in the first quarter. Earnings are expected to be mainly driven by higher pricing and margins in the steel mills segment.
The company also sees another strong quarter for the steel products segment with second-quarter profitability projected to be comparable to the first quarter. Moreover, Nucor sees profitability in the raw materials segment to decline in the second quarter compared with first-quarter levels due to higher raw material input costs.
Nucor Corporation Price and Consensus
Nucor Corporation price-consensus-chart | Nucor Corporation Quote
Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks
Nucor currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Some other top-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Dow Inc. DOW, Celanese Corporation CE and Cabot Corporation CBT.
Dow has a projected earnings growth rate of roughly 261.5% for the current year. The company’s shares have surged 103.4% in a year. It currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Celanese has an expected earnings growth rate of around 68.3% for the current year. The company’s shares have gained 114.7% in the past year. It currently sports a Zacks Rank #1.
Cabot has an expected earnings growth rate of 115.9% for the current fiscal. The company’s shares have gained 108.8% in the past year. It currently flaunts a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
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