Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Upgraded by Wolfe Research to “Strong-Buy”

Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Commercial Metals from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Commercial Metals from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Commercial Metals in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set a buy rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Commercial Metals presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $61.40.

Commercial Metals Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE CMC opened at $53.30 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.12 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 4.24, a quick ratio of 2.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Commercial Metals has a 12 month low of $39.85 and a 12 month high of $61.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $54.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.68.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 20th. The basic materials company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.02. Commercial Metals had a net margin of 6.95% and a return on equity of 14.62%. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Commercial Metals will post 4.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Commercial Metals during the fourth quarter worth about $94,722,000. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Commercial Metals by 30.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 134,549 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,733,000 after purchasing an additional 31,018 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Commercial Metals in the 4th quarter worth approximately $220,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 220,719 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,045,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP increased its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 86.4% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 79,795 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,993,000 after buying an additional 36,985 shares during the period. 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.