Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $53.67, but opened at $52.00. Commercial Metals shares last traded at $55.06, with a volume of 162,782 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CMC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Commercial Metals from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Commercial Metals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 20th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Commercial Metals from $70.00 to $69.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Commercial Metals has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.75.

Commercial Metals Stock Up 5.2 %

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $52.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.47. The company has a quick ratio of 2.83, a current ratio of 4.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 1.14.

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Commercial Metals’s payout ratio is currently 15.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Commercial Metals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,641,427 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $632,577,000 after purchasing an additional 191,345 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 23,390.7% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,076,337 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $180,752,000 after purchasing an additional 3,063,241 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 4.5% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,774,666 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $104,297,000 after purchasing an additional 76,742 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 1.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,296,284 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $71,283,000 after purchasing an additional 18,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 2.3% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,159,769 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $68,160,000 after purchasing an additional 25,816 shares during the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.