Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $81.1818.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Commercial Metals from a “buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research raised Commercial Metals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group upgraded Commercial Metals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $79.00 to $89.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Bank of America cut their price target on Commercial Metals from $84.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Commercial Metals from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Peter R. Matt acquired 8,230 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $61.30 per share, with a total value of $504,499.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 181,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,127,298.60. This trade represents a 4.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Mcpherson bought 1,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $71.92 per share, with a total value of $99,968.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,576,989.84. This trade represents a 6.77% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Commercial Metals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. USA Financial Formulas grew its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 67.6% in the 1st quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 496 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Commercial Metals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 617.2% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Commercial Metals during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 105.0% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,222 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Commercial Metals Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of CMC stock opened at $69.16 on Friday. Commercial Metals has a 12-month low of $53.08 and a 12-month high of $84.87. The company has a market capitalization of $7.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.02, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $67.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.48 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.40 billion. Commercial Metals had a net margin of 6.72% and a return on equity of 15.69%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Commercial Metals will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commercial Metals declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 5th that permits the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the basic materials company to reacquire up to 7.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 6th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 6th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Commercial Metals’s payout ratio is presently 15.07%.

Commercial Metals Company Profile

Commercial Metals Company (NYSE: CMC) is a leading global steel and metal recycler, manufacturer and fabricator based in Irving, Texas. The company operates an integrated network of scrap recycling facilities, electric arc furnace steel mills, metal fabrication plants and distribution centers. Through these operations, Commercial Metals collects and processes ferrous scrap to produce finished steel products and provides recycled metal to a variety of end markets.

In its steelmaking segment, CMC uses electric arc furnace technology to transform recycled scrap into reinforcing bar (rebar), merchant bar, coil and structural products.