Analysts Set Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC) PT at $81.18

Shares of Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $81.1818.

CMC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on Commercial Metals from $84.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Commercial Metals from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Commercial Metals from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Commercial Metals to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Commercial Metals from a “buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th.

Commercial Metals Stock Up 2.1%

CMC opened at $70.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 2.33 and a quick ratio of 1.54. The company’s 50-day moving average is $67.69 and its 200 day moving average is $68.94. Commercial Metals has a fifty-two week low of $53.08 and a fifty-two week high of $84.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.22, a PEG ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.52.

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

Commercial Metals announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $600.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the basic materials company to reacquire up to 7.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Commercial Metals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 6th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 6th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.07%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Peter Matt bought 8,230 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $61.30 per share, for a total transaction 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John McPherson bought 1,390 shares of Commercial Metals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $71.92 per share, with a total value of $99,968.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 21,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,576,989.84. This trade represents a 6.77% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Commercial Metals

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CMC. USA Financial Formulas lifted its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 67.6% during the 1st quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 496 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Commercial Metals in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in Commercial Metals by 617.2% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Commercial Metals in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Colonial Trust Co SC purchased a new stake in Commercial Metals during the fourth quarter valued at about $81,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Commercial Metals Company Profile

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.