Meet the Metal Maestros

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If you own shares of a metal recycler, I imagine your screen is looking pretty green.

Pretty much everyone in the space, from Schnitzer Steel (Nasdaq: SCHN) to Metalico (AMEX: MEA), is trading higher today, in response to positive news on multiple fronts.

First, we have the stellar results out of Commercial Metals (NYSE: CMC), which just reported this morning. You have to back out the company's non-cash charge on inventories (a product of last-in, first-out accounting rules) to see the true strength of these earnings. Ferrous scrap prices have escalated, but finished steel products such as rebar are more than keeping pace and allowing margins to fatten. Demand abroad has also cut down on scrap steel imports, a development that further strengthens the position of domestic players.

On another front, it appears that the slew of analysts covering Sims Group (NYSE: SMS) has significantly underestimated the Aussie company's earning power in today's strong market for scrap steel. In a statement today, the company -- which, along with Nucor (NYSE: NUE), is a top metal recycler worldwide -- noted that the average Street estimate for Sims' full fiscal year is too low. There's only one quarter to go, so the implications for the current quarter become magnified.

Specifically, the full-year estimate is for $314 million in earnings. Backing out the past three quarters gives us an estimate of $132 million for the current and final quarter of the fiscal year. Sims says it will exceed the full-year estimate by more than 10%-15%. That means fourth-quarter earnings are probably coming in at least 35% higher than expected -- possibly better. Sims is looking far from slim.

Aside from my admiration of the man running Sims' North American operations (the former Metal Management), the macro environment for scrap recyclers is tough to beat. For that reason, I have outperform ratings on both Sims and Metalico in Motley Fool CAPS. Check out what other players have to say about either company, and it should be clear why these metal players are so dear.

Related Foolishness:

• I told you Sims Group was scrapping together a dominant recycler.
• What's Nucor's war chest for?
• Commercial Metals is a stock worth waiting for.