Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $46.59, but opened at $50.16. Commercial Metals shares last traded at $50.18, with a volume of 473,943 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CMC. Wolfe Research raised shares of Commercial Metals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a research note on Friday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $52.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Commercial Metals from $54.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Commercial Metals from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Commercial Metals from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Commercial Metals has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.00.

Commercial Metals Stock Down 0.7%

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $44.97 and its 200 day moving average is $49.38. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.29.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.05). Commercial Metals had a net margin of 1.70% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Commercial Metals will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 120.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John R. Mcpherson acquired 2,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $40.42 per share, for a total transaction of $100,039.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 15,141 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $611,999.22. This trade represents a 19.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMC. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Commercial Metals by 67.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 210,769 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,584,000 after purchasing an additional 84,905 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Commercial Metals by 57.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,884 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 1,785 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Commercial Metals in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. First Dallas Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Commercial Metals by 41.5% in the 4th quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. now owns 30,079 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 8,828 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 18,637 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $924,000 after acquiring an additional 863 shares in the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.