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

Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $64.20.

A number of brokerages have commented on CMC. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Commercial Metals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Commercial Metals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Commercial Metals and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Commercial Metals from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $57.50 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Commercial Metals from $69.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd.

Commercial Metals Stock Up 2.5%

CMC stock opened at $58.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 2.78 and a quick ratio of 2.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.34. Commercial Metals has a 52-week low of $37.92 and a 52-week high of $64.53. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.36.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 16th. The basic materials company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. Commercial Metals had a net margin of 1.09% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The company’s revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Commercial Metals will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 30th will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 30th. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John R. Mcpherson purchased 1,722 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $58.09 per share, with a total value of $100,030.98. Following the purchase, the director owned 6,722 shares in the company, valued at $390,480.98. This represents a 34.44% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Commercial Metals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Commercial Metals in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 169.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 515 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Commercial Metals by 80.3% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 548 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management increased its position in Commercial Metals by 42.4% during the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 615 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 282.3% in the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 692 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 511 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.