Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on CMC. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Commercial Metals from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group initiated coverage on Commercial Metals in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company.

Commercial Metals Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of CMC opened at $56.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 1.33. Commercial Metals has a 12-month low of $39.85 and a 12-month high of $59.81. The company has a current ratio of 4.19, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $55.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.86.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by ($0.05). Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 17.72% and a net margin of 8.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Commercial Metals will post 5.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Lindsay L. Sloan sold 600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.52, for a total transaction of $30,912.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,338 shares in the company, valued at $635,653.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Commercial Metals news, CAO Lindsay L. Sloan sold 600 shares of Commercial Metals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.52, for a total transaction of $30,912.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 12,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $635,653.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 57,194 shares of Commercial Metals stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.94, for a total value of $2,856,268.36. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 156,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,799,878.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 320,089 shares of company stock worth $16,383,553. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CMC. HM Payson & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Commercial Metals in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new position in Commercial Metals in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Commercial Metals in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Commercial Metals during the first quarter worth about $30,000. 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.