JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Price Target to $83.00

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) had its target price decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $86.00 to $83.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

CMC has been the subject of several other reports. Barclays increased their target price on Commercial Metals from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Commercial Metals to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Commercial Metals from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Commercial Metals from $84.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Commercial Metals from a “buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.64.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

NYSE CMC opened at $67.21 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $68.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.60. The stock has a market cap of $7.44 billion, a PE ratio of 12.66, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 1.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.33. Commercial Metals has a fifty-two week low of $53.08 and a fifty-two week high of $84.87.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $2.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.40 billion. Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 6.72%.Commercial Metals’s revenue was up 22.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Commercial Metals will post 6.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commercial Metals announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to buy up to 7.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Commercial Metals

In related news, CEO Peter R. Matt acquired 8,230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 10th. The shares were bought 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 $11,127,298.60. The trade was a 4.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John R. Mcpherson acquired 1,390 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $71.92 per share, for a total transaction of $99,968.80. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 21,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,576,989.84. This trade represents a 6.77% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 23,199 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Commercial Metals by 4.2% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,610 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Commercial Metals by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 23,554 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,630,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Commercial Metals by 4.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,164 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in Commercial Metals by 2.9% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 6,626 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $380,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Commercial Metals Company Profile

Commercial Metals Company (NYSE: CMC) is a steel and metals manufacturing and recycling company headquartered in Irving, Texas. Founded in 1915, the company began as a scrap-metal business and has grown into an integrated producer, recycler and fabricator serving construction and industrial markets.

CMC manufactures and distributes a range of steel products, including reinforcing bar, merchant bar, wire rod, structural products, wire mesh and other products used in concrete construction and infrastructure projects.