Jim Cramer - Mad Money Nucor Corp. NUE-N COMMENT Apr 19, 2024

Buy at $160-165. Shares have moved up too fast, but it's the best steel stock. Warning: can be volatile.

Has outlasted all its steel peers over time. Superior balance sheet and has raised its dividend for 50 years. Trades at only 5x trailing earnings. However, the street predicts EPS to fall by half between 2022's peak and this year, and even lower in 2024. His take: if we avoid recession, shares will soar. Also, Nucor will supply most of the steel needed during the coming wave of infrastructure spending, driven by the IRA act. A long-term investment.

The best steel company, but nobody will buy this if we enter a recession. This could go even lower, so wait for a lower price.

Steel tariffs that the U.S. has placed on China are good for Cleveland Cliffs but great for Nucor. Also, Nucor benefit from being a low-costs producer.

With so few steel companies, Nucor and Cleveland Cliffs enjoy scarcity value with enough business to keep pricing up, though Nucor has a much better balance sheet. It reports Monday.

The country's best steel company. They just reported, but issued worsening guidance, and shares sank.

Shares are plunging with copper prices.

Trump will likely slap tariffs on steel from China, making Nucor a buy.

China, through trans-shipments, is dumping steel through Mexico to pressure steel prices, therefore hurting Nucor. If and when Trump stops this, then NUE shares will rocket.