Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $57.83.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a report on Tuesday, July 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $63.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Commercial Metals in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Commercial Metals from $56.00 to $58.00 in a report on Friday, June 23rd.

Commercial Metals Price Performance

Shares of CMC stock opened at $57.65 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $55.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.21. The company has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a PE ratio of 7.13 and a beta of 1.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 3.68 and a quick ratio of 2.34. Commercial Metals has a 12 month low of $35.22 and a 12 month high of $58.09.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 22nd. The basic materials company reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.18. Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 26.49% and a net margin of 10.72%. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.61 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Commercial Metals will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 12th. Investors of record on Monday, July 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 30th. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Barbara Smith sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.65, for a total transaction of $2,532,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 433,785 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,971,210.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Commercial Metals news, SVP Ty L. Garrison sold 5,000 shares of Commercial Metals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.98, for a total value of $274,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 106,408 shares in the company, valued at $5,850,311.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Barbara Smith sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.65, for a total value of $2,532,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 433,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,971,210.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 174,247 shares of company stock worth $9,332,716 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Commercial Metals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in Commercial Metals by 1.7% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 16,103,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $787,457,000 after acquiring an additional 272,913 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Commercial Metals by 1.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,226,374 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $550,481,000 after buying an additional 142,062 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,830,526 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $378,217,000 after buying an additional 185,168 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 22.3% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,494,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $312,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,367,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Commercial Metals in the 4th quarter worth $114,477,000. Institutional investors own 82.64% of the company’s stock.

Commercial Metals Company Profile

Commercial Metals Company manufactures, recycles, and fabricates steel and metal products, and related materials and services in the United States, Poland, China, and internationally. The company processes and sells ferrous and nonferrous scrap metals to steel mills and foundries, aluminum sheet and ingot manufacturers, brass and bronze ingot makers, copper refineries and mills, secondary lead smelters, specialty steel mills, high temperature alloy manufacturers, and other consumers.