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Nucor Third Quarter Earnings Preview
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NUE
When Nucor (NYSE:NUE) releases its third quarter earnings on Thursday, October 18, 2012, analysts are expecting a 24.6% drop in earnings from a year ago. The consensus estimate is 43 cents per share, down from earnings of 57 cents per share a year ago.
Investors care about earnings because they drive stock prices. Strong earnings generally result in the stock price moving up and vice versa. SEE: 5 Tricks Companies Use During Earnings Season
What to Expect: Whereas the consensus estimate was 46 cents three months ago, it has since fallen. For the fiscal year, analysts are expecting earnings of $1.73 per share.
Nucor is expected to report revenue of $4.87 billion for the quarter, down by 7.3% from last year's figure of $5.25 billion. For the fiscal year, expected revenue is $19.84 billion.
Company Performance: Nucor reported a decline in revenue in the second quarter, ending a three-quarter growth streak. It fell 0.1% in the second quarter after rising 4.9%in the first quarter, 25.3% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year and 26.9% in the third quarter of the last fiscal year.
Compared to the industry average of 10.87, NUE's P/E ratio of 21.3 is quite high. This could mean that the market is expecting big things over the next few months or years. Perhaps one of the most widely-used stock analysis tools is the price-to-earnings ratio, or P/E. From the investor's perspective, a stock with a lower ratio is relatively cheaper than a stock with a higher ratio. SEE: Investment Valuation Ratios: Price/Earnings Ratio
The stock price has increased over the past quarter just slightly to $38.58 from $38.28 on July 17, 2012. September 13, 2012 to October 2, 2012 marked one of Nucor's worst periods, as the share price fell $2.65.
The Competition: Nucor and its affiliates manufacture steel and steel products for customers mainly located in North America. Analysts are optimistic about Nucor, with eight of 15 assigning it a buy rating.
The company's closest competitor in the iron and steel industry is Gerdau (GGB). Analysts are more optimistic about Nucor than about Gerdau. Only one out of five analysts rate the latter a buy.
Investors care about earnings because they drive stock prices. Strong earnings generally result in the stock price moving up and vice versa. SEE: 5 Tricks Companies Use During Earnings Season
What to Expect: Whereas the consensus estimate was 46 cents three months ago, it has since fallen. For the fiscal year, analysts are expecting earnings of $1.73 per share.
Nucor is expected to report revenue of $4.87 billion for the quarter, down by 7.3% from last year's figure of $5.25 billion. For the fiscal year, expected revenue is $19.84 billion.
Company Performance: Nucor reported a decline in revenue in the second quarter, ending a three-quarter growth streak. It fell 0.1% in the second quarter after rising 4.9%in the first quarter, 25.3% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year and 26.9% in the third quarter of the last fiscal year.
The stock price has increased over the past quarter just slightly to $38.58 from $38.28 on July 17, 2012. September 13, 2012 to October 2, 2012 marked one of Nucor's worst periods, as the share price fell $2.65.
The Competition: Nucor and its affiliates manufacture steel and steel products for customers mainly located in North America. Analysts are optimistic about Nucor, with eight of 15 assigning it a buy rating.
The company's closest competitor in the iron and steel industry is Gerdau (GGB). Analysts are more optimistic about Nucor than about Gerdau. Only one out of five analysts rate the latter a buy.
by
Investopedia Staff
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