Wall Street Zen Downgrades Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) to Buy

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on CMC. KeyCorp began coverage on Commercial Metals in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. They set a “sector weight” rating for the company. Zacks Research lowered Commercial Metals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $85.00 price target on Commercial Metals and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Citigroup upped their price target on Commercial Metals from $65.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Commercial Metals from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Commercial Metals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.00.

Commercial Metals Stock Up 0.2%

Commercial Metals stock opened at $61.71 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.47. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 1.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. Commercial Metals has a 1-year low of $37.92 and a 1-year high of $84.87.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 26th. The basic materials company reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by ($0.12). Commercial Metals had a net margin of 6.02% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The company had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Commercial Metals will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Commercial Metals

In related news, insider Jennifer J. Durbin sold 25,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.97, for a total transaction of $2,003,248.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 52,880 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,228,813.60. This trade represents a 32.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Dennis V. Arriola purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $74.69 per share, with a total value of $149,380.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 9,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $689,986.22. This represents a 27.63% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Commercial Metals

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Commercial Metals in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its holdings in Commercial Metals by 169.6% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 515 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its holdings in Commercial Metals by 42.4% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 615 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in Commercial Metals by 110.7% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 573 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Commercial Metals in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

About Commercial Metals

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.