Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on CMC. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Commercial Metals from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. UBS Group started coverage on Commercial Metals in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company.

Commercial Metals Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:CMC opened at $55.21 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.59 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 has a twelve month low of $39.85 and a twelve month high of $59.81. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.10.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Commercial Metals news, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 60,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.28, for a total transaction of $3,085,312.48. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 96,019 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,923,854.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 60,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.28, for a total value of $3,085,312.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 96,019 shares in the company, valued at $4,923,854.32. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Lindsay L. Sloan sold 600 shares of Commercial Metals stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.52, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 120,089 shares of company stock worth $6,402,693 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Commercial Metals

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CMC. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Commercial Metals by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,987 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its position in Commercial Metals by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 13,154 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $658,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 23,471 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. MA grew its position in Commercial Metals by 0.4% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,237 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.