Steel is a highly cyclical industry, rising and falling along with the broader economy. But steelmaker maker (NYSE: NUE) has been surprisingly resilient in the face of that inherent volatility. If you are a conservative investor looking to add a steel stock to your portfolio, Nucor should be atop your list of options.

Having said that, you'll want to be careful about when you buy it. Here's a quick look at the company and whether or not Nucor's stock is a buy, sell, or hold today.

The core of Nucor's steel business is electric arc mini-mills. As the name implies, these mills use electricity. But the real story is that mini-mills tend to be easier to ramp up and down along with the steel market. Thus the company's earnings tend to be less volatile than those of companies reliant on older blast furnace technology, which tends to be a feast-or-famine affair (big profits in the good years, deep losses in bad years). The inherent consistency in Nucor's business model is how it managed to become a Dividend King despite operating in a cyclical industry.

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Source Fool.com