BMO Capital Markets Issues Positive Forecast for Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Stock Price

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) had its price objective upped by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $77.00 to $80.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 5.57% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also commented on CMC. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Commercial Metals from a “buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Commercial Metals from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research raised shares of Commercial Metals from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Commercial Metals to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Commercial Metals from $85.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Commercial Metals presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.73.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CMC opened at $75.78 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 2.33, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.29. Commercial Metals has a 12 month low of $51.52 and a 12 month high of $84.87. The stock has a market cap of $8.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.27, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.52.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.40 billion. Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 15.69% and a net margin of 6.72%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Commercial Metals will post 6.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Commercial Metals announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, August 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to repurchase up to 7.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Commercial Metals

In other news, CEO Peter R. Matt purchased 8,230 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $61.30 per share, for a total transaction of $504,499.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 181,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,127,298.60. This represents a 4.75% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Commercial Metals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. USA Financial Formulas grew its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 67.6% in the first quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 496 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Commercial Metals by 110.7% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 573 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Commercial Metals during the 4th quarter worth about $54,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in Commercial Metals by 617.2% during the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 832 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Commercial Metals in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Commercial Metals

Commercial Metals Company (NYSE: CMC) is a leading global steel and metal recycler, manufacturer and fabricator based in Irving, Texas. The company operates an integrated network of scrap recycling facilities, electric arc furnace steel mills, metal fabrication plants and distribution centers. Through these operations, Commercial Metals collects and processes ferrous scrap to produce finished steel products and provides recycled metal to a variety of end markets.

In its steelmaking segment, CMC uses electric arc furnace technology to transform recycled scrap into reinforcing bar (rebar), merchant bar, coil and structural products.