Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Commercial Metals from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group started coverage on Commercial Metals in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a buy rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock.

Commercial Metals Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CMC opened at $55.28 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $55.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.05. Commercial Metals has a 12-month low of $39.85 and a 12-month high of $59.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.60 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 4.19, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

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

Commercial Metals Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st were paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. This is a boost from Commercial Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Commercial Metals

In other Commercial Metals news, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 60,166 shares of Commercial Metals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.28, for a total transaction of $3,085,312.48. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 96,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,923,854.32. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $635,653.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 60,166 shares of Commercial Metals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.28, for a total value of $3,085,312.48. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 96,019 shares in the company, valued at $4,923,854.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 120,089 shares of company stock valued at $6,402,693. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Commercial Metals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CMC. Advisors Preferred LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 114.0% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 60,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,051,000 after purchasing an additional 32,393 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 23.5% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 118,904 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,950,000 after purchasing an additional 22,619 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 270.1% during the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 137,240 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,918,000 after purchasing an additional 100,160 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 91.3% during the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 91,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,528,000 after purchasing an additional 43,734 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC purchased a new position in shares of Commercial Metals during the third quarter valued at approximately $690,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.