In the latest trading session, Nucor (NUE) closed at $148, marking a +0.3% move from the previous day. This move traded in line with S&P 500. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.24%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.34%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the steel company had lost 9.74% over the past month. This has lagged the Basic Materials sector's loss of 3.26% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.21% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Nucor as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $4.13, down 46.15% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $8.26 billion, down 21.24% from the year-ago period.

For the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $14.35 per share and revenue of $33.1 billion, which would represent changes of -50.16% and -20.26%, respectively, from the prior year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Nucor should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 10.45% higher. Nucor currently has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Digging into valuation, Nucor currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 10.29. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 9.26.

The Steel - Producers industry is part of the Basic Materials sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 17, putting it in the top 7% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.

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