NS Group's shares closed at $17.11, down $1.82, after a rival said its third-quarter results would be below expectations. An industry analyst also lowered his opinion on the sector, saying higher steel prices are likely to squeeze margins for pipe and tube-makers next year.

In the third quarter last year, the parent of Newport Steel Corp. in Wilder reported a loss of $2.2 million, or 11 cents a share, on revenue of $73.6 million.

NS Group's shares, which hit a 52-week high of $19.77 Thursday , have been one of the best performers among the Enquirer 80 Index of stocks of local interest this year amid expectations that higher oil and gas prices will fuel drilling activity.

NS Group said it would report third-quarter results Oct. 25.

Another tubular-steel maker, Lone Star Technologies Inc., said Friday that it expects earnings for the quarter of 85 to 95 cents a share. The company was expected to report earnings of $1.35 a share. Lone Star's shares declined Monday 30.6 percent to $29.25.

St. Louis-based Maverick Tube Corp. said Monday that it also expects to exceed previous earnings range of $1.20 to $1.40 a share for the third quarter. The consensus estimate among analysts was for earnings of $1.30 a share. Maverick's shares declined 7.6 percent Monday closing at $28.07.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Victor March Monday cut his rating for all three companies to "underperform" from "sector perform."

E-mail mboyer@enquirer.com