Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $64.53 and last traded at $63.80, with a volume of 15630 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $63.32.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CMC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a research note on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $75.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets set a $62.00 target price on shares of Commercial Metals and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Commercial Metals from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.20.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a current ratio of 3.94. The company has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.15.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 17th. The basic materials company reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by ($0.01). Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 6.13%. The business had revenue of $2 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Commercial Metals will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commercial Metals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.39%.

Institutional Trading of Commercial Metals

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Commercial Metals during the 3rd quarter worth about $66,000. Archer Investment Corp purchased a new position in shares of Commercial Metals during the 2nd quarter worth about $77,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 21.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,572 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Commercial Metals during the 2nd quarter worth about $195,000. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.