Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $64.17.

CMC has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Commercial Metals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Commercial Metals in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Commercial Metals from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. BNP Paribas lowered shares of Commercial Metals from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Commercial Metals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Commercial Metals by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,714,116 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $94,208,000 after acquiring an additional 17,931 shares during the last quarter. Vestcor Inc raised its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 108.0% in the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 18,103 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $995,000 after purchasing an additional 9,400 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 6.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,081,153 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $59,420,000 after purchasing an additional 66,092 shares in the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 32.5% during the third quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 75,873 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $4,170,000 after buying an additional 18,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Commercial Metals by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,462,317 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $80,369,000 after buying an additional 18,262 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Commercial Metals Trading Up 3.3 %

NYSE:CMC traded up $1.62 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $50.51. The company had a trading volume of 1,762,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,331,490. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 3.94 and a quick ratio of 2.78. Commercial Metals has a 52 week low of $47.42 and a 52 week high of $64.53. The company has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $56.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.01.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78. Commercial Metals had a net margin of 6.13% and a return on equity of 12.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Commercial Metals will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 16th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Commercial Metals's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.39%.

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.