Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Stock Price Up 5.8% After Strong Earnings

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) rose 5.8% during trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $53.68 and last traded at $53.68. Approximately 436,841 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 889,839 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.74.

The basic materials company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Commercial Metals Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Commercial Metals’s payout ratio is 15.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CMC has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Commercial Metals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Commercial Metals from $52.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd.

Insider Transactions at Commercial Metals

In other news, Chairman Barbara Smith sold 35,704 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.88, for a total transaction of $2,066,547.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 36,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,095,024.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Commercial Metals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CMC. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Commercial Metals by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $555,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its stake in Commercial Metals by 182.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 103,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $5,115,000 after acquiring an additional 66,902 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Commercial Metals by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 78,676 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,887,000 after acquiring an additional 11,718 shares during the period. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Commercial Metals by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,564 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $275,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045 shares during the period. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Commercial Metals in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $741,000. 86.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Commercial Metals Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.34 and a beta of 1.27. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.28. The company has a current ratio of 4.24, a quick ratio of 2.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

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.