AK Steel Holding Corporation (NYSE:AKS) missed earnings and sales estimates in third-quarter 2017. The steel maker reported net loss of $5.8 million or 2 cents per share in the reported quarter as compared to the net income of $50.9 million or 21 cents recorded in the prior-year quarter.
FMC Corporation (FMC): Free Stock Analysis Report
Koppers Holdings Inc. (KOP): Free Stock Analysis Report
BHP Billiton Limited (BHP): Free Stock Analysis Report
AK Steel Holding Corporation (AKS): Free Stock Analysis Report
Original post
Zacks Investment Research
Barring costs related to the acquisition of Precision Partners and debt refinancing (totaling $13.1 million), adjusted earnings for the quarter came in at 2 cents per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 3 cents.
Total operating costs in the reported quarter rose around 10.2% year over year to roughly $1,456.5 million.
The company recorded net sales of $1,494.3 million for the quarter, up 2.8% from the year-ago quarter. However, sales missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,504 million.
AK Steel Holding Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
AK Steel Holding Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Pricing and Shipments
Shipments for the quarter were down around 2.1% year over year to 1,368,600 tons, mainly due to weaker automotive demand. Average selling price per ton rose 2% year over year to $1,021 in the quarter mainly due to higher surcharges on specialty steel products and increased average selling prices on both spot and contract market sales.
Financials
AK Steel exited the quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $69.3 million and $865.3 million available under its revolving credit facility. The company reported long-term debt of $2,098 million at the end of the quarter. Cash flows from operating activities were $154 million for the first nine months of 2017.
Key Developments
AK Steel, in August, completed the acquisition of Precision Partners Holding Company for $360.9 million in cash. The buyout combines AK Steel’s innovation in materials and metals-forming and Precision Partners' tooling and stamping technology and advanced capabilities.
Price Performance
Shares of AK Steel have lost 14.2% in the past three months underperforming the industry’s 5.9% rally.
Zacks Rank & Key Picks
AK Steel currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are FMC Corporation (NYSE:FMC) , Koppers Holdings Inc. (NYSE:KOP) and BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) Limited (NYSE:BHP) . All three stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
FMC Corporation has expected long-term earnings growth of 11.3%.
Koppers Holdings has expected long-term earnings growth of 18%.
BHP Billiton has expected long-term earnings growth of 5.3%.
More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!
It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market.
Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2020.
FMC Corporation (FMC): Free Stock Analysis Report
Koppers Holdings Inc. (KOP): Free Stock Analysis Report
BHP Billiton Limited (BHP): Free Stock Analysis Report
AK Steel Holding Corporation (AKS): Free Stock Analysis Report
Original post
Zacks Investment Research
3rd party Ad. Not an offer or recommendation by Investing.com. See disclosure here or
remove ads
.