Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Brokerages

Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $57.50.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on CMC shares. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Commercial Metals in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Wolfe Research raised Commercial Metals from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $57.50 price objective on Commercial Metals in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Commercial Metals from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $55.00 price target (down from $57.00) on shares of Commercial Metals in a report on Tuesday, June 24th.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

CMC stock traded up $1.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $53.32. The company had a trading volume of 943,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 880,179. The firm has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a PE ratio of 172.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.26. Commercial Metals has a 1-year low of $37.92 and a 1-year high of $64.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $49.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $47.99. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, June 23rd. The basic materials company reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.11). Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 7.45% and a net margin of 0.48%. The business had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.02 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Commercial Metals will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Commercial Metals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 232.26%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Commercial Metals

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Commercial Metals by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 17,933 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $889,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 44.9% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 35,565 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,764,000 after purchasing an additional 11,015 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 852,994 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $42,309,000 after purchasing an additional 12,909 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals in the fourth quarter valued at $1,825,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 41,483 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,058,000 after purchasing an additional 3,661 shares in the last quarter. 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.