Nucor's (NUE) Shares Touch Fresh 52-Week High at $55.26

Shares of Nucor Corporation NUE hit a new 52-week high of $55.26 on Sep 3 and eventually closed at $55.02. Nucor has delivered a one-year return of about 24% and year-to-date return of 4.6%. Average volume of shares traded over the last three months was roughly 1,565K.
What's Driving Nucor Up?

Nucor, on Jul 24, posted healthy second-quarter 2014 results. Both revenues and earnings for the quarter topped Zacks Consensus Estimate. Profit was driven by improved performance of the company's steel mills business.

Nucor expects improved earnings on a sequential basis in the third quarter. Moreover, the company anticipates higher operating profits in its downstream products businesses in the quarter.

Nucor is progressing well with its key projects that are expected to boost its earnings over the long-term. The Louisiana direct reduced iron DRI facility, its largest project, came online in Dec 2013. The $750 million plant is expected to produce 2.5 million tons of DRI annually when operations are in full swing.

In addition, the Nucor-Yamato structural mill recently completed a roughly $115 million project, offering expanded sheet piling production capabilities. Nucor is also aggressively investing to secure a low-cost supply of natural gas on a long-term basis to cover its expected future steelmaking and DRI production needs. Expanded DRI capacity combined with the company's natural gas investments will enable it to grow in sheet and SBQ (special bar quality) markets.
https
Moreover, Nucor is seeing strength across end markets such as automotive, energy, heavy equipment and general manufacturing. Demand across these end-markets is healthy, lending support to the company's top line.
 
However, the steel industry is still going through a difficult phase and market fundamentals remain challenging in the U.S. While non-residential construction activities are improving, the market remains much below its peak levels.

Nucor currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Other Stocks to Consider

Other companies in the steel industry with favorable Zacks Rank include Grupo Simec S.A.B. de C.V. SIM, TimkenSteel Corporation TMST and AK Steel Holding Corporation AKS. While Grupo Simec and TimkenSteel sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), AK Steel carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).