Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $67.20.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CMC. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Commercial Metals in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets set a $62.00 price target on shares of Commercial Metals and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Commercial Metals from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

Shares of CMC stock opened at $61.60 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $57.71 and its 200 day moving average is $55.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.15. Commercial Metals has a 12 month low of $45.57 and a 12 month high of $64.53. The company has a current ratio of 3.94, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 17th. The basic materials company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.01). Commercial Metals had a net margin of 6.13% and a return on equity of 12.20%. The company had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Commercial Metals will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.39%.

Institutional Trading of Commercial Metals

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in Commercial Metals during the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals during the second quarter valued at approximately $77,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Commercial Metals by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $170,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Commercial Metals in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $195,000. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Commercial Metals during the 3rd quarter valued at $206,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Commercial Metals

Commercial Metals Company manufactures, recycles, and fabricates steel and metal products, and related materials and services in the United States, Poland, China, and internationally. It operates through two segments, North America and Europe. 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.