Short Interest in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Rises By 5.9%

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,040,000 shares, a growth of 5.9% from the September 30th total of 2,870,000 shares. Currently, 2.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 781,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CMC. BMO Capital Markets set a $62.00 price target on shares of Commercial Metals and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Commercial Metals in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Commercial Metals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.25.

Commercial Metals Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of CMC traded down $0.59 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $53.80. 895,022 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 860,481. The firm's 50 day moving average is $52.92 and its 200-day moving average is $54.22. Commercial Metals has a 52 week low of $42.07 and a 52 week high of $61.26. The company has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a PE ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a current ratio of 4.24.

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.34%. Commercial Metals's payout ratio is currently 17.39%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CMC. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Commercial Metals by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 198,675 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $11,676,000 after purchasing an additional 20,751 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its stake in Commercial Metals by 23,390.7% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,076,337 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $180,752,000 after purchasing an additional 3,063,241 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Commercial Metals by 61.9% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 67,054 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $3,941,000 after buying an additional 25,642 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 388.4% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 298,621 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $17,550,000 after purchasing an additional 237,477 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 630,836 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $37,075,000 after buying an additional 67,068 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.