Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Commercial Metals Company (NYSE:CMC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $75.23 and last traded at $74.5260, with a volume of 85129 shares. The stock had previously closed at $74.26.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Commercial Metals from $68.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Commercial Metals from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $78.00 in a report on Friday, December 5th. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Commercial Metals in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Commercial Metals from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Commercial Metals from $68.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.70.

Commercial Metals Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $8.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 1.49. The business’s 50-day moving average is $66.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.99. The company has a quick ratio of 3.70, a current ratio of 4.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 8th. The basic materials company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. Commercial Metals had a net margin of 5.46% and a return on equity of 11.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Commercial Metals Company will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, January 19th will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John R. Mcpherson acquired 1,722 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $58.09 per share, with a total value of $100,030.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $390,480.98. The trade was a 34.44% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.62% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Commercial Metals

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Commercial Metals during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 169.6% during the 3rd quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 515 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in Commercial Metals by 42.4% in the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 615 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Commercial Metals by 282.3% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 692 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Commercial Metals by 51.4% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 890 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Commercial Metals Company Profile

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.