Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Raised to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Commercial Metals has been upgraded from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting growing investor confidence.
• Analysts have varying price targets for Commercial Metals, with Morgan Stanley setting a target of $57.50 and UBS Group increasing theirs to $56.00.
• The company's stock performance shows a 1-year high of $64.53 and a 1-year low of $37.92, indicating significant volatility in market value.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on Commercial Metals from $48.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Commercial Metals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed 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. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Commercial Metals in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Commercial Metals from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Commercial Metals presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $58.81.

Commercial Metals Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of CMC stock traded up $1.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $58.16. 706,627 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 876,970. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 187.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.33. Commercial Metals has a one year low of $37.92 and a one year high of $64.53. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $53.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a current ratio of 2.86.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 23rd. The basic materials company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.11). Commercial Metals had a net margin of 0.48% and a return on equity of 7.45%. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.02 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Commercial Metals will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commercial Metals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Commercial Metals's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 232.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Commercial Metals by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,749,877 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $86,794,000 after acquiring an additional 162,201 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 335,038 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $16,618,000 after purchasing an additional 30,609 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Commercial Metals by 22.5% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 17,512 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $869,000 after purchasing an additional 3,221 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its stake in Commercial Metals by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 64,775 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,213,000 after purchasing an additional 10,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Commercial Metals by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 33,198 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,647,000 after buying an additional 3,426 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.90% 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. 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.