Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

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

Commercial Metals Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:CMC opened at $55.87 on Thursday. Commercial Metals has a twelve month low of $39.85 and a twelve month high of $59.81. The company has a quick ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 4.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $55.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.02. The company has a market cap of $6.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.70 and a beta of 1.33.

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

Insider Transactions at Commercial Metals

In other news, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 35,704 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.88, for a total transaction of $2,066,547.52. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 36,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,095,024.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 35,704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.88, for a total value of $2,066,547.52. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 36,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,095,024.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Lindsay L. Sloan sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.52, for a total value of $30,912.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 12,338 shares in the company, valued at $635,653.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 120,089 shares of company stock valued at $6,402,693. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Commercial Metals

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. HM Payson & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals during the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.