We recently put together a list of the 12 best nickel stocks to buy according to hedge funds.In this article we will look at where Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE: LEG) stands against the other nickel stocks.
Nickel is a metal that is frequently used in production. It is an important part of stainless steel and is appreciated for its corrosion resistance. It is also one of the most common means. According to the International Nickel Study Group, primary nickel production will increase by 4.6% in 2024 and then by an additional 3.8% in 2025. About 150,000 tons of nickel will be excessive worldwide in 2025, according to Nornickel, usually in high -quality nickel segments.
The nickel industry is booming. According to Fortune Business Insights, the size of the global nickel market was estimated at $ 41.61 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow with a composite annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.3%, from $ 44.59 billion in 2024 to $ 73.15 billion in 2023. In 2023. Domine the Nickel market. Furthermore, the nickel market in the United States is expected to expand to a size of $ 2.01 billion in 2032, led by the electric vehicle industry, continuous infrastructure projects and a strong demand from the production of stainless steel.
However, investing nickel shares can be a challenge. Mining companies are cyclical and stock prices fluctuate in accordance with the market price of Nickel. The fear of a recession and a decrease in industrial demand have led to nickel prices at the beginning of 2025 fluctuating and falling from around $ 17,000 per ton to less than $ 16,000 in March, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights. Since Nikkel is needed for NCM and NCA batteries in electric vehicles, the long-term demand is still favorable. Until 2030, the demand for Nickel of EV batteries worldwide will increase by 15% to 20% (Irena). Long -term supply agreements have been negotiated by two large car manufacturers to guarantee access to the battery nickel.
That said, the prices were under pressure because of the expansion of the offer, in particular from Indonesia, which in 2024 produced more than 1.6 million tonnes and accounts for around 50% of the worldwide offer. Despite high costs and environmental problems, the export ban of Indonesia and the growth of HPAL projects are changing the landscape of the Supply Chain. Although there are environmental and legal barriers, the Philippines also increases the output. The market is further complicated by geopolitical concerns. Western sanctions force Russian supplies to lead to China, while the EU is looking for alternatives in countries such as Canada and Australia. Trump’s plans, including possible rates for the Chinese Nickel, have set an intense focus on essential extraction of resources in the United States. LME 3M Nickel Prices are expected to be on average $ 16,026/T in 2025 on average, according to S&P Global, with disturbing delivery and changes in trade policy are the most important concerns.
According to the latest report from S&P Global, in the light of the growing uncertainty of worldwide trading tensions guided by rate, the Asian nickel market can remain under pressure in the coming months. This will be due to a supply surplus that is fed by higher Indonesian production levels and a weak demand from important nickel-consuming industries, such as electric vehicles and stainless steel. Jason Sappor, Metals and Mining Research Senior Analyst at S&P Global Commodity Insights, explained:
“In the midst of an unstable global macro -economic background, we expect that the global primary nickel market will remain excess in 2025, whereby the production of Indonesia will continue to grow this year, despite challenges such as the availability of tight nickel terts and a potential increase in the royalty percentage on nickel products by the government,” “
12 best nickel stocks to buy according to hedge funds
A steel rod, bent and formed according to the exact specifications of the company.
For this article we went through the online rankings to form a first list of the 20 nickel shares. From the resulting dataset we have chosen 12 shares with the highest number of investors of hedge funds, using the database of Insider Monkey of 1,009 hedge funds in Q4 2024 to measure the sentiment of the Hedgefonds for shares. We used the market capitalization of the share on 25 April 2025 as a TIE-Breaker in case two or more shares have invested the same number of hedge funds.
Why are we interested in the shares that stack hedge funds? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can surpass the market by imitating the best share choices of the best hedge funds. The strategy of our quarterly newsletter selects 14 CAP and Large-CAP shares every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014 and reports its benchmark with 150 percentage points. ((See more details here).
Number of holders of hedge funds: 31
Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE: LEG) is a diversified manufacturer that produces a wide range of goods for houses, offices and cars. One of the most important raw materials used by the company is metals with a lot of strength, on titanium and nickel -based alloys, chemicals used in creating foam and others. It is in fifth place on our list of the Dear nickel stocks.
Since obtaining more leverage due to the acquisition of Freukmatra Provider ECS 2019, the company has experienced countless difficulties. The company’s gross margins fell by 450 basic points, from 21.85% in Q2 2021 to 17.4% currently. In addition, there is a decrease in the demand for bedding (28% since 2021), furniture/floors/textiles (16.7% since 2022) and cars (5% in 2023). Despite these challenges, Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE: LEG) continued to pay $ 220 million annually dividends, making his debt situation worse and his net debt to EBITDA ratio increased to 4.75 times.
The management reorganizes the company and plans to permanently reduce costs by $ 60- $ 70 million by personnel reductions, facility consolidations and operational efficiency. Moreover, the company has shortened the majority of its dividend and liberated approximately $ 220 million a year. In 2025, it expects to receive $ 240 million in profit after taxes from the sale of its space department. By 2026, the company also expects between $ 60 and $ 80 million from real estate transactions. Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (NYSE: LEG) has already paid $ 126 million in debts from 2024. To coordinate his interests with those of shareholders, CEO Karl Glassman, who owns around 0.9% of the shares, has incentives with regard to EBITDA, free cash flow, ROIC and the total shareholder return.
Generally, leg is in 5th place On our list of the 12 best nickel shares to buy according to hedge funds. Although we recognize the potential of nickel companies, our conviction is believing that AI shares have a greater promise for delivering a higher return within a shorter time frame. There is an AI shares that have gone up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI shares lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI share that is promising than Been, but that deals with less than 5 times his income, view our report on this Cheapest AI stock.
Read next: 20 best AI shares to buy now And 30 best shares to buy now according to billionaires.
Publication: none. This article was originally published on Insider monkey.
