Short Interest in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Rises By 14.5%

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,770,000 shares, an increase of 14.5% from the March 31st total of 2,420,000 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 934,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.0 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CMC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Commercial Metals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Finally, 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 research report on Friday, March 22nd.

Insider Transactions at Commercial Metals

In related news, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 23,619 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total value of $1,219,921.35. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 72,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,739,460. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 119,489 shares of company stock worth $6,371,781. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Commercial Metals

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Advisors Preferred LLC lifted its holdings in Commercial Metals by 114.0% in the fourth quarter. Advisors Preferred LLC now owns 60,810 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,051,000 after buying an additional 32,393 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Commercial Metals by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 118,904 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,950,000 after buying an additional 22,619 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in Commercial Metals by 270.1% in the fourth quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 137,240 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $6,918,000 after buying an additional 100,160 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Commercial Metals by 91.3% in the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 91,634 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,528,000 after buying an additional 43,734 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Commercial Metals by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 260,740 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $13,047,000 after buying an additional 5,972 shares during the period. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Commercial Metals Price Performance

NYSE:CMC traded up $0.60 on Wednesday, reaching $54.34. The stock had a trading volume of 334,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 965,654. The company has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 1.33. Commercial Metals has a 1-year low of $39.85 and a 1-year 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $55.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.50.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The basic materials company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. Commercial Metals’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Commercial Metals will post 5.34 EPS for the current year.

Commercial Metals Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. This is a positive change from Commercial Metals’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.50%.

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.