Analysts Set Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC) Price Target at $79.45

Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $80.7273.

CMC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Commercial Metals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Commercial Metals from $84.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Commercial Metals from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Commercial Metals from $83.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

CMC stock opened at $73.88 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.29. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Commercial Metals has a 12-month low of $52.31 and a 12-month high of $84.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 1.52.

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

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 6th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 6th. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.07%.

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

Insider Transactions at Commercial Metals

In other news, CEO Peter R. Matt purchased 8,230 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $61.30 per share, for a total transaction of $504,499.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 181,522 shares in the company, valued at $11,127,298.60. This trade represents a 4.75% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Commercial Metals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. USA Financial Formulas increased its holdings in Commercial Metals by 67.6% during the first 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 bought a new position in Commercial Metals in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Commercial Metals during the 4th quarter worth $54,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 617.2% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 716 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

About Commercial Metals

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.