Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has upgraded Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) to a "strong-buy" rating, reflecting positive analyst sentiment towards the stock.
• Commercial Metals reported an EPS of $0.74 for the last quarter, missing consensus estimates by $0.11, while revenue decreased by 2.8% year-over-year.
• The company's average rating is currently categorized as a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $58.81.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and set a $56.00 price target (up from $48.00) on shares of Commercial Metals in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley set a $57.50 price objective on shares of Commercial Metals in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Commercial Metals from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Commercial Metals from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Commercial Metals in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Commercial Metals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $58.81.

Commercial Metals Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE CMC opened at $57.17 on Thursday. Commercial Metals has a 1 year low of $37.92 and a 1 year high of $64.53. The stock has a market cap of $6.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 184.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $51.53 and a 200 day moving average of $48.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.00.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 23rd. The basic materials company reported $0.74 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 the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.02 EPS. The company's revenue was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Commercial Metals will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Commercial Metals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 47.8% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,108 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,766,000 after acquiring an additional 11,670 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Commercial Metals during the second quarter valued at approximately $798,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Commercial Metals by 17.0% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 669,758 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $32,760,000 after buying an additional 97,267 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Commercial Metals by 36.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 819,735 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $40,093,000 after buying an additional 217,246 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in Commercial Metals by 2.3% during the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 168,985 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $8,265,000 after buying an additional 3,850 shares during the period. 86.90% of the stock is currently 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.

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