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Best Steel Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top steel stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +32.52% per year, and are the best steel stocks to buy now. Learn More.

According to Zen Ratings, our proprietary rating system that evaluates 115 factors proven to drive growth in stocks and assigns each stock in our system an overall letter grade as well as 7 individual Component Grades for Value, Growth, Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, Financials, and proprietary AI algorithms, the 3 best steel stocks to buy right now are:

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) is the #1 top steel stock out of 22 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +32.52% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Nucor (NYSE:NUE) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: B, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Nucor (NYSE:NUE) has a Due Diligence Score of 46, which is 17 points higher than the steel industry average of 29.

NUE passed 17 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Nucor has seen its stock return 98.85% over the past year, overperforming other steel stocks by 127 percentage points.

Nucor has an average 1 year price target of $219.63, a downside of -5.68% from Nucor's current stock price of $232.85.

Nucor stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 8 analysts covering Nucor, 50% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 12.5% have issued a Buy, 37.5% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Friedman Industries (NASDAQ:FRD) is the #2 top steel stock out of 22 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Friedman Industries (NASDAQ:FRD) is: Value: C, Growth: A, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Friedman Industries (NASDAQ:FRD) has a Due Diligence Score of 40, which is 11 points higher than the steel industry average of 29.

FRD passed 15 out of 38 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Friedman Industries has seen its stock return 28.18% over the past year, overperforming other steel stocks by 57 percentage points.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) is the #3 top steel stock out of 22 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: B, and AI: C.

Steel Dynamics (NASDAQ:STLD) has a Due Diligence Score of 49, which is 20 points higher than the steel industry average of 29.

STLD passed 18 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Steel Dynamics has seen its stock return 75.5% over the past year, overperforming other steel stocks by 104 percentage points.

Steel Dynamics has an average 1 year price target of $222.86, a downside of -5.04% from Steel Dynamics's current stock price of $234.68.

Steel Dynamics stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 7 analysts covering Steel Dynamics, 57.14% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 14.29% have issued a Buy, 28.57% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 11 steel stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 steel stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Algoma Steel Group (NASDAQ:ASTL) has an annual dividend yield of N/A, which is N/A percentage points lower than the steel industry average of 1.14%.

Algoma Steel Group's dividend payout ratio of -1.5% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Mesabi Trust (NYSE:MSB) has an annual dividend yield of 3.36%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the steel industry average of 1.14%. Mesabi Trust's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% sixteen times in the last 10 years. Mesabi Trust's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Mesabi Trust's dividend payout ratio of 121.1% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Reliance (NYSE:RS) has an annual dividend yield of 1.32%, which is the same as the steel industry average of 1.14%. Reliance's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Reliance's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Reliance's dividend payout ratio of 31.4% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Steel stocks were down -0.17% in the last day, and up 0.48% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why steel stocks are down.

Based on the Valuation rating, one of the 7 components of a stocks overall Zen Ratings grade, which evaluates factors including estimated earnings yield, earnings before interest and taxes/enterprise value, cash flow yield, free cash flow to price, and price-to-earnings growth (PEG ratio), the 3 most undervalued steel stocks right now are:

Commercial Metals Co (NYSE:CMC) is the most undervalued steel stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Commercial Metals Co has a valuation score of 29, which is 11 points higher than the steel industry average of 18. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Commercial Metals Co's stock has gained 52.01% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the steel industry by 81 percentage points.

Arcelormittal (NYSE:MT) is the second most undervalued steel stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Arcelormittal has a valuation score of 43, which is 25 points higher than the steel industry average of 18. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Arcelormittal's stock has gained 103.32% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the steel industry by 132 percentage points.

Friedman Industries (NASDAQ:FRD) is the third most undervalued steel stock based on its Valuation Rating of C. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Friedman Industries has a valuation score of 43, which is 25 points higher than the steel industry average of 18. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Friedman Industries's stock has gained 28.18% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the steel industry by 57 percentage points.

44.44% of steel stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect steel stocks to fall by -1.94% over the next year.

6.67% of steel stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 26.67% of steel stocks are rated B (Buy), 53.33% are rated C (Hold), 6.67% are rated D (Sell), and 6.67% are rated F (Strong Sell).