Goldman Sachs Reiterates Sell on AK Steel Holding Corporation on 1Q13 EPS Guidance

In a report published Friday, Goldman Sachs analyst Sal Tharani reiterated a Sell rating and $3.00 price target on AK Steel Holding Corporation

. In the report, Tharani noted, “AKS issued 1Q13 EPS guidance of ($0.13)-($0.09 ) including a $4-5mn tax benefit of $0.03, with the mid-point below the GS/consensus estimates of ($0.12)/($0.09). Shipments are expected to be between 1.28-1.30mn tons, with automotive to see higher shipments while other spot market products are expected to be soft as normal cyclical improvement has yet to be realized. ASP is expected to increase 5% sequentially to $1,060/t on better product mix and raw material costs are expected to be lower. We are lowering our 1Q13 EPS to ($0.12) from ($0.05) excluding the tax benefit and introducing a 2015 EPS estimate of $0.80. Our other estimates, rating, and price target remain unchanged.” AK Steel Holding Corporation closed on Thursday at $3.47.