Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $69.25 and last traded at $69.4920, with a volume of 657710 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $66.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Commercial Metals from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $64.00 to $78.00 in a report on Friday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Commercial Metals from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Commercial Metals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Commercial Metals from $69.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Commercial Metals from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Commercial Metals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.40.

Commercial Metals Stock Up 4.9%

The stock’s 50-day moving average is $60.28 and its 200-day moving average is $55.86. The stock has a market cap of $7.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 91.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a current ratio of 2.78, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31.

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

Commercial Metals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 30th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 30th. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Commercial Metals news, Director John R. Mcpherson bought 1,722 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $58.09 per share, for a total transaction of $100,030.98. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $390,480.98. This trade represents a 34.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 5.5% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 6,929 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Commercial Metals by 440.3% in the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 572,748 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,352,000 after purchasing an additional 466,743 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Commercial Metals by 148.6% in the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 58,821 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,706,000 after purchasing an additional 35,161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 37.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,568,021 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $72,145,000 after purchasing an additional 424,313 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

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.