Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the nine research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research 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 brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $58.00.

CMC has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Commercial Metals from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group lowered their price target on Commercial Metals from $54.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Commercial Metals from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Commercial Metals in a report on Friday, May 30th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $52.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Commercial Metals from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

Shares of CMC stock traded down $0.27 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $48.87. 852,945 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 974,652. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $45.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.29. Commercial Metals has a 12-month low of $37.92 and a 12-month high of $64.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.76.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.73 billion. Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 1.70%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Commercial Metals will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.

Commercial Metals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.47%. Commercial Metals's payout ratio is 120.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Commercial Metals

In related news, Director John R. Mcpherson purchased 2,475 shares of Commercial Metals stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $40.42 per share, with a total value of $100,039.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 15,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $611,999.22. This trade represents a 19.54% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CMC. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Commercial Metals by 57.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,884 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $242,000 after buying an additional 1,785 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 15,801 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $784,000 after buying an additional 1,369 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals during the 4th quarter valued at $984,000. Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 72.6% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 48,531 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,407,000 after buying an additional 20,411 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 60.7% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 707 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company's stock.

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.