Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Upgraded to "Buy" at StockNews.com

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Commercial Metals from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock.

Commercial Metals Price Performance

Commercial Metals stock traded down $1.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $57.22. The company had a trading volume of 691,104 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,029,817. Commercial Metals has a 1 year low of $39.85 and a 1 year high of $59.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 4.19 and a quick ratio of 2.69. The company has a market capitalization of $6.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 1.33. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $54.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.81.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.93 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Commercial Metals had a net margin of 8.09% and a return on equity of 17.72%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Commercial Metals will post 5.34 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 142,806 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.89, for a total value of $7,124,591.34. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 213,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,645,478.31. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 142,806 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.89, for a total transaction of $7,124,591.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 213,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,645,478.31. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Lindsay L. Sloan sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.52, for a total transaction of $30,912.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $635,653.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 320,089 shares of company stock worth $16,383,553. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Commercial Metals

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in Commercial Metals by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 12,638 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,402 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Commercial Metals by 14.9% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,282 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 1,727 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position in Commercial Metals by 11.4% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 44,522 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,853,000 after purchasing an additional 4,540 shares during the last quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. bought a new position in Commercial Metals in the 1st quarter worth about $2,188,000. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its position in Commercial Metals by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 69,545 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,980,000 after purchasing an additional 6,259 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.

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