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

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,210,000 shares, an increase of 23.5% from the May 31st total of 2,600,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 789,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.1 days. Approximately 2.8% of the company's stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered Commercial Metals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, June 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Commercial Metals from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $60.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Commercial Metals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Commercial Metals by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 13,154 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $658,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its position in Commercial Metals by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 67,943 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,400,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Commercial Metals by 21.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,572 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in Commercial Metals by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 23,810 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,176,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 5,087 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company's stock.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CMC traded down $0.56 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $52.96. The stock had a trading volume of 726,426 shares, compared to its average volume of 916,955. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $54.53 and a 200-day moving average of $53.75. The firm has a market cap of $6.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 4.24, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Commercial Metals has a fifty-two week low of $39.85 and a fifty-two week high of $59.81.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The basic materials company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.00 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 14.62% and a net margin of 6.95%. The company's revenue was down 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Commercial Metals will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

Commercial Metals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Commercial Metals's payout ratio is 15.00%.

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.