Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Stock Gets Price Target Boost from Barclays

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) had its price target hoisted by equities research analysts at Barclays from $72.00 to $77.00 in a report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the basic materials company’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 23.97% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Commercial Metals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Commercial Metals from $88.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Commercial Metals in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Commercial Metals from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Commercial Metals from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.18.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CMC traded down $1.74 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $62.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,023,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,134,011. Commercial Metals has a 12-month low of $57.01 and a 12-month high of $84.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $64.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.63. The company has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.58, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 1.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.34 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 15th. The basic materials company reported $2.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.14. Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 6.98%. The company had revenue of $2.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.37 earnings per share. Commercial Metals’s quarterly revenue was up 25.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Commercial Metals will post 6.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commercial Metals announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, August 5th that allows the company to repurchase $600 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the basic materials company to repurchase up to 7.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Commercial Metals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CMC. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 1.7% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 12,468 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $774,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals during the third quarter worth about $906,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 20.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 133,881 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,314,000 after purchasing an additional 23,126 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Commercial Metals during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,085,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Commercial Metals by 28.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,781 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 1,059 shares during the period. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Commercial Metals Company Profile

Commercial Metals Company (CMC) is a metals recycling, manufacturing and construction-services company. Its operations span the collection and processing of ferrous and nonferrous scrap, which can be used as raw material for steelmaking, and the production of steel and other metal products. CMC manufactures products including reinforcing bar, merchant bar, wire rod and other steel products used in construction and industrial applications. The company also provides construction-related products and services, including steel fabrication and engineered solutions for infrastructure projects.