AKS - Sector: Basic Materials --- Industry: Iron & Steel

[setravis]

The bounce north off the 50-day MA continues today...

52wk Range: 7.58 - 17.14
Volume: 1,125,400
Avg Vol (3m): 2,219,160


Technicals
Close Above the 13-day EMA
Percentage Gainer

Last Price Quote is:
6.34%above 13-day MA
10.94%above 50-day MA
RS Rating: 94 

Fundamentals
Key Data:
Market Cap (M): $1,330.66 
P/E Ratio: 8.10 
PEG Ratio: 0.615 
Next Earnings: 01/23/2007
Last Analyst Rating: Sell

[setravis]

Worthy of an update.......
AK Steel leaps to new high on rosier pricing outlook.

[bjc]

Nice work setravis.  This has been a great one for you.

I sold this for a slight loss at 10.96..and also had WPSC which I sold at 15.90 for a slight profit.  OUCH..missing 50%+ profits in both.

[setravis]

AK Steel to raise carbon steel products price by $30/ton...
The price increase is in response to increased demand for carbon steel products, and the need to recover higher costs for steelmaking inputs.
U.S. Steel mulls production boost as orders improve.

As of Saturday, 01-27-2007 23:59, the latest Comtex SmarTrend(SM) Alert, an automated pattern recognition system, indicated an UPTREND on 07-03-2006 for AKS @ $14.07. For more information on Comtex SmarTrend? Alert, contact your market data provider or go to www.CSTADirect.com SmarTrend is a registered trademark of Comtex News Network, Inc. Copyright ? 2004-2007 Comtex News Network, Inc. All rights reserved.

Support @ $20.70...17.04...16.30
Resistance @ $24.00...26.00


52wk Range: 10.55 - 21.62
Volume: 3,464,300
Avg Vol (3m): 2,456,120

Technicals
Record Price High.......
Stochastic is Bullish

Last Price Quote is:
14.39%above 13-day MA
27.59%above 50-day MA
RS Rating: 94 

Fundamentals
Key Data:
Market Cap (M): $1,330.66 
P/E Ratio: 8.10 
PEG Ratio: 0.615 
Next Earnings: N/A
Last Analyst Rating: Neutral

Below are the 6 Month, 1 Year, 2 Year and 3 Year Charts.......

[setravis]

$$ Stocks Rise With Alcoa, GM, 3M Charging Dow
Looks to be making a run at that high of $22.03.


52wk Range: 10.60 - 22.03
Volume: 2,532,619
Avg Vol (3m): 2,628,400

Technicals
Percentage Gainer

Last Price Quote is:
4.59%above 13-day MA
18.24%above 50-day MA
RS Rating: 95 

Fundamentals
Key Data:
Market Cap (M): $1,330.66 
P/E Ratio: 8.10 
PEG Ratio: 0.615 
Next Earnings: N/A
Last Analyst Rating: Neutral

[setravis]

Outstanding move.......

Option activity is tremendous. Somebody knows something.

Stock retreated from high. Stock traded up on news of tentative Labor agreement.


52wk Range: 10.91 - 23.82
Volume: 9,791,800
Avg Vol (3m): 2,780,630

Technicals
Record Price High.........................
Close Above the 13-day MA
Percentage Gainer
Price Gainer

Last Price Quote is:
5.37%above 13-day MA
17.81%above 50-day MA
RS Rating: 97 

Fundamentals
Coverage Initiated: Equal-weight

Key Data:
Market Cap (M): $1,330.66 
P/E Ratio: 8.10 
PEG Ratio: 0.615 
Next Earnings: N/A
Last Analyst Rating: Equal-weight

[setravis]

AP
Sector Snap: Steel Stocks Strengthen
Tuesday March 6, 12:04 pm ET 
Shares of Steel Producers Rise As Broader Market Rebounds, Analyst Offers Bullish Outlook


NEW YORK (AP) -- Steel sector stocks strengthened Tuesday amid a Wall Street recovery and an analyst's bullish outlook for the industry.
Goldman Sachs analyst Aldo Mazzaferro projected rising steel prices and said "we would be aggressive buyers of steel shares" on low stock valuations and the prospect for higher dividends and share buybacks.


In a note to clients, he named United States Steel Corp. among his top picks. The company's stock rose $2.18 to $87.14 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

"We think steel stocks are becoming less risky relative to other sectors because of major changes in global supply demand balances, greater financial strength and liquidity and improving near-term fundamentals," Mazzaferro wrote.

Elsewhere, shares of AK Steel Holding Corp. picked up 86 cents, or 4.1 percent, to $22.02 on the New York Stock Exchange, as the broader market also rebounded from five turbulent sessions. Arcelor Mittal shares rose $1.57, or 3.2 percent, to $50.65 on the Big Board, while shares of Nucor Corp. were up $1.16 at $59.06.

Ryerson Inc., which processes and distributes metals, saw its shares gain $1.51, or 4.4 percent, to $35.94. Earlier Tuesday, the company postponed its annual stockholder meeting to continue its review of "strategic alternatives," including a possible sale.

[setravis]

Today's closing chart.......

[setravis]

AP
Sector Snap: Steel
Thursday March 29, 12:13 pm ET 
Steel Companies Rise As U.S. Steel-Lone Star Deal Adds Momentum to Industry Consolidation


NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of steel companies rose sharply Thursday after United States Steel Corp. said it plans to buy a steel pipe manufacturer for $2.1 billion cash, fueling an already frenzied pace of consolidation in the steel industry.


U.S. Steel, based in Pittsburgh, agreed to buy Dallas-based tubular steel manufacturer Lone Star Technologies Inc. at a 39 percent premium. Lone Star makes pipes to transport oil and gas.

FTN Midwest Securities analyst Bob Richard said steel companies were in big trouble at the beginning of the decade, with a handful going bankrupt. There were too many steel manufacturers, Richard said, and customers had all the leverage in negotiating prices.

The global steel industry has seen a spate of deals in the past few years, including the Mittal-Arcelor and Tata-Corus tie-ups. Steel companies are trying to grow so they can have better bargaining power and withstand price swings in the cyclical industry.

Shares of U.S. Steel reached a new high of $101.59 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange before moving back to $100, up $2.39 or 2.4 percent. The previous 52-week high was $98.53.

Lone Star Technologies also hit a new high, of $66.50. Later the shares traded at $66, up $17.55 or 36.2 percent.

Shares of Worthington Industries Inc. rose 80 cents, or 4.1 percent, to $20.42; IPSCO Inc. climbed $10.83, or 9.2 percent, to $129.04; shares of AK Steel Holding Corp. reached a new 52-week high of $23.94, slipping back to $23.40, up 78 cents or 3.5 percent; Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. rose $1.27, or 2.8 percent, to $47.18; shares of Gerdau AmeriSteel Corp. added 28 cents, or 2.5 percent, at $11.45 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Steel Dynamics Inc. rose $1.55, or 3.8 percent, to $42.30; shares of Chaparral Steel Co. hit a new 52-week high of $59.15, then slid back to $57.87, up 48 cents; and Wheeling-Pittsburgh Corp. rose 56 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $23.02 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

[setravis]

Speculative fury still thriving.......


52wk Range: 11.11 - 23.82
Volume: 5,019,200
Avg Vol (3m): 2,896,530

Technicals
Record Price High
Close Above the 13-day MA
Record Price Break Out
Percentage Gainer

Last Price Quote is:
2.52%above 13-day MA
10.00%above 50-day MA
RS Rating: 96 

Fundamentals
Key Data:
Market Cap (M): $1,330.66 
P/E Ratio: 8.10 
PEG Ratio: 0.615 
Next Earnings: N/A
Last Analyst Rating: Equal-weight

[setravis]

Worth an update.......

Technicals
Record Price High......

Last Price Quote is:
4.55%above 13-day MA
11.97%above 50-day MA
RS Rating: 96 

Fundamentals
Earnings Expected on Apr 24

Key Data:
Market Cap (M): $1,330.66 
P/E Ratio: 8.10 
PEG Ratio: 0.6 
Next Earnings: 04/24/2007
Last Analyst Rating: Equal-weight

[setravis]

Press Release Source: AK Steel Corporation


AK Steel's 2006 Stock Performance Termed 'Stellar' by Fortune Magazine
Monday April 16, 4:14 pm ET 
Steelmaker Listed as Having 7th Best Total Return to Shareholders


MIDDLETOWN, Ohio, April 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- AK Steel (NYSE: AKS - News) has been named by Fortune magazine as one of the best investments for 2006, ranking seventh in Fortune's category for total return to shareholders for the year. AK Steel was also named by Fortune as one of the top performing companies for revenues per dollar of equity, or "Most Bang For The Buck" as Fortune termed the category, with a ranking at number 22.


AK Steel's stock performance, a 112.6% increase during 2006, was called "stellar" by Fortune in its annual rankings of America's largest corporations.

With 2006 revenues of over $6 billion, AK Steel is ranked overall at number 378 on the famed Fortune 500 list, moving up from number 385 for the previous year. Other rankings for AK Steel include: the nation's sixth largest metals company; the fifth largest company in the Cincinnati, Ohio area; and the 21st largest Ohio company.

"For AK Steel, 2006 was a defining year," said James L. Wainscott, chairman, president and CEO of AK Steel. "Our rankings by Fortune reflect the significant progress we have made to return AK Steel to sustained profitability and enhance value for our shareholders."

Headquartered in Middletown, Ohio, AK Steel produces flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steel products, as well as carbon and stainless tubular steel products, for automotive, appliance, construction and manufacturing markets.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Source: AK Steel Corporation

[setravis]

Volume is very encouraging, Somebody knows something.... 

52wk Range: 11.11 - 25.06
Volume: 7,804,425
Avg Vol (3m): 3,070,940

Technicals
Record Price High
MACD - Bullish
Percentage Gainer

Last Price Quote is:
13.84%above 13-day MA
22.23%above 50-day MA
RS Rating: 97 

Fundamentals
Earnings Expected on Apr 24

Key Data:
Market Cap (M): $2,776.98 
P/E Ratio: 234.46 
PEG Ratio: 0.61 
Next Earnings: 04/24/2007
Last Analyst Rating: Equal-weight

[setravis]

AP
AK Steel CEO Gets $5.4M in Compensation
Monday April 16, 5:59 pm ET
By Lisa Cornwell, Associated Press Writer 
AK Steel CEO Awarded 2006 Compensation of About $5.4 Million


CINCINNATI (AP) -- James Wainscott, AK Steel Holding Corp.'s top executive, received compensation valued at about $5.4 million in 2006, when 2,500 workers at the Middletown-based company were locked out for most of that year, according to an analysis of a regulatory filing.


Wainscott, the company's chief executive, president and chairman, received a salary of $900,000, incentives of $2.5 million and stock awards valued at $2 million.

Wainscott's compensation under the company's incentive plan, based on the company's safety, quality and financial performance, increased $120,000 over what it would have been under the initial plan to reflect extraordinary circumstances and quality performance by the company in 2006. The increase was based exclusively upon the company's outstanding performance with respect to customer claims, the company's filing said.

Wainscott received $28,643 of other compensation, which included perks such as personal financial planning and tax preparation services paid for by the company and personal use of corporate aircraft. The company did not break down the amount spent per each perk.

The company said it determines executive compensation based partly on the compensation of peers at companies with comparable sales, size and scope. The peer companies included Allegheny Technologies Inc. and Timken Co.

The Associated Press calculations of total pay include executives' salary, bonus, incentives and perks, above-market returns on deferred compensation and the estimated value of stock options and awards granted during the year. The calculations do not include changes in the present value of pension benefits.

Union workers at the corporation's Middletown Works, the company's largest plant, approved a contract last month to end the lockout that began when the previous contract expired Feb. 28, 2006.

Production and maintenance workers who were locked out of AK Steel's Middletown Works have been returning to the mill since approval of the contract last month. The new contract runs through September 2011.

The company continued to operate the mill during the lockout with replacement workers and salaried employees.

For the 2006 fiscal year, AK earned $12 million, or 11 cents a share, after a loss of $2.3 million, or 2 cents a share, in 2005. Sales increased to $6.07 billion from $5.65 billion in 2005.

AK Steel said Monday it has been named by Fortune magazine as one of the best investments for 2006. Its 113 percent return last year put in seventh in Fortune's category for total return to shareholders for the year.

AK Steel makes flat-rolled carbon steel and stainless and electrical steel used in cars and appliances. The company's biggest mill and headquarters are in Middletown, about 30 miles north of Cincinnati, with smaller plants in Zanesville, Mansfield and Coshocton, Ohio; Ashland, Ky.; Rockport, Ind.; and Butler, Pa.

AK Steel: http://www.aksteel.com

[setravis]

AP
Profits Surge for AK Steel
Tuesday April 24, 1:13 pm ET
By Terry Kinney, Associated Press Writer 
AK Steel Cites High Prices, Lower Costs in 1Q Earnings Jump


CINCINNATI (AP) -- AK Steel Holding Corp. said on Tuesday that its earnings soared on higher shipments and selling prices and lower operating costs at the company's Middletown Works, where workers were locked out for nearly 13 months.


AK Steel's stock jumped 5 percent to a modern high for the company, which began trading as AK Steel in 1994.

The steel maker said it made $62.7 million, or 56 cents a share, for the quarter ended March 31 compared with $6.2 million, or 6 cents a share, a year ago, when the lockout began. Sales were a record $1.72 billion, compared with $1.44 billion a year ago.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 45 cents a share on revenue of $1.7 billion.

"We exceeded our own high expectations ... and exceeded Wall Street's expectations as well," jubilant chief executive James Wainscott told analysts.

The announcement came the same day as Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel reported earnings were 6.6 percent higher than a year ago. U.S. Steel shares fell, based on flat second-quarter projections, while AK rose to record highs.

"The real key is the forecast," said Charles Bradford of Bradford Research/Soliel Securities in New York. "U.S. Steel said it expected its second quarter to be about the same as the first quarter, which was a good quarter. But AK forecast an even better second."

AK Steel locked out workers at its Middletown Works when their contact expired Feb. 28, 2006, and continued operating the mill with replacement workers and salaried personnel.

The labor dispute ended last month, when hourly production and maintenance workers ratified a new 54-month agreement and began returning to work.

Wainscott told analysts Tuesday that the new contract would save AK Steel about $100 million a year, based on a nonguaranteed work force of about 2,000, compared with a defined work force of 3,114 under the old contract.

Actual employment was about 2,500 at the time of the lockout, so some of those savings were already realized.

AK said it shipped a record 1.6 million tons in the first quarter at a record selling price of $1,078 per ton, a 15 percent increase over the $940 per-ton mark set in the first quarter of 2006, and about 4 percent higher than the $1,041 per-ton level reached in the fourth quarter of 2006.

Operating profit was $120 million, or $75 per ton, a fourfold increase from the $29.4 million, or $19 per ton, the company said.

"We are beginning to experience the very positive effects of a strong market and new labor agreements at all of our plants, as well as our relentless cost and debt reduction initiatives, and we're taking that momentum into the second quarter," Wainscott said in a statement.

He said shipments in the second quarter are expected to be slightly higher than first-quarter levels, with selling prices about 2 percent to 3 percent higher. The company will incur a non-cash, pretax pension charge of $24.7 million related to the new labor agreement at the Middletown Works, Wainscott said.

Shares of AK Steel were up $1.40, nearly 5 percent, at $31.15 Tuesday afternoon on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of U.S. Steel swung in the opposite direction, declining $4.45, more than 4 percent, to $102.55.

AK said it will redeem another $75 million in debt due to paid in 2009. The company redeemed $225 million of the $450 million of notes in March.

On Monday, the company said it would make an early $105 million contribution to its pension trust fund. That and an early contribution of $75 million the company made in January, would fully satisfy the company's obligation for 2007, the company said.

AK Steel makes flat-rolled carbon steel and stainless and electrical steel used in cars and appliances. The company's headquarters and largest mill are in Middletown, about 30 miles north of Cincinnati, and it has smaller plants in Zanesville, Mansfield and Coshocton, Ohio; Ashland, Ky.; Rockport, Ind.; and Butler, Pa.

AK Steel: http://www.aksteel.com