Nucor shares close lower on Monday, steel producer to establish plate mill in US Midwest

Yesterday Nucor Corp (NUE) revealed plans to invest $1.35 billion in the construction of a plate mill in the US Midwest, as the company takes advantage of federal tax cuts as well as higher steel prices for local producers resulting from import tariffs, which the Trump administration introduced last year.

Nucor shares closed lower for the fourth time in the past eight trading sessions in New York on Monday. The stock went down 0.76% ($0.41) to $53.42, after touching an intraday high at $54.60, or a price level not seen since December 19th ($56.26).

Shares of Nucor Corp have risen 3.11% so far in 2019 compared with a 1.71% gain for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2018, Nucor Corp’s stock went down 18.51%, thus, it underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 6.24% loss.

“Tax reform, continued improvements to our regulatory approach and strong trade enforcement are giving businesses like ours the confidence to make long-term capital investments here in the United States,” John Ferriola, Nucors Chief Executive Officer, was quoted as saying by Reuters.

According to Nucor, as many as 1.2 million tons of steel plate products per year are expected to be produced at the new facility, which will be completely operational in 2022.

The steel producer also said that the new mill would create about 400 full-time job positions.

According to CNN Money, the 15 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Nucor Corp’s stock price, have a median target of $72.00, with a high estimate of $89.00 and a low estimate of $50.00. The median estimate represents a 34.78% upside compared to the closing price of $53.42 on January 7th.

The same media also reported that 11 out of 17 surveyed investment analysts had rated Nucor Corp’s stock as “Buy”, while 5 – as “Hold”.

Weekly Pivot Levels

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Nucor Corp (NUE) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $52.87
R1 – $55.08
R2 – $56.34
R3 – $58.55
R4 – $60.77

S1 – $51.61
S2 – $49.40
S3 – $48.14
S4 – $46.89