Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Shares of Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $46.86, but opened at $45.13. Commercial Metals shares last traded at $46.85, with a volume of 162,781 shares traded.

The basic materials company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.12). Commercial Metals had a net margin of 1.70% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The company had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Commercial Metals’s payout ratio is currently 64.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas lowered Commercial Metals from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of Commercial Metals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Commercial Metals from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Commercial Metals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Six investment 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, Commercial Metals currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $61.83.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Commercial Metals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Commercial Metals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $69,261,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Commercial Metals by 87.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,919,445 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $95,204,000 after purchasing an additional 893,094 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 122.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,245,535 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $68,455,000 after buying an additional 686,519 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Commercial Metals by 15,350.0% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 568,095 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,178,000 after buying an additional 564,418 shares during the period. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its holdings in Commercial Metals by 58.0% during the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 1,440,531 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $79,172,000 after buying an additional 528,876 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

Commercial Metals Trading Down 1.1 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.81. The firm has a market cap of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

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.