Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,670,000 shares, adropof25.6% from the July 15th total of 3,590,000 shares. Currently,2.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 970,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Based on an average trading volume of 970,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Currently,2.4% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 12.4% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,189,000 after acquiring an additional 2,846 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Commercial Metals by 25.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,280 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 669 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 460.1% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,383 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $570,000 after buying an additional 10,172 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 13,316 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $612,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 385,527 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $17,738,000 after buying an additional 22,682 shares during the period. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Commercial Metals Price Performance

Shares of CMC opened at $58.9520 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 190.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.28. Commercial Metals has a twelve month low of $37.92 and a twelve month high of $64.53. The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.44 and a 200-day moving average of $48.67. The company has a quick ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, June 23rd. The basic materials company reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.11). Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 7.45% and a net margin of 0.48%.The business had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.02 earnings per share. Commercial Metals’s revenue was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Commercial Metals will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commercial Metals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Commercial Metals’s payout ratio is currently 232.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on CMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Commercial Metals from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Commercial Metals from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Commercial Metals from $48.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Commercial Metals to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 target price (down from $57.00) on shares of Commercial Metals in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Commercial Metals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.81.

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.