Insider Buying: Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Director Purchases 2,475 Shares of Stock

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Director John R. Mcpherson purchased 2,475 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $40.42 per share, for a total transaction of $100,039.50. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 15,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,999.22. This trade represents a 19.54 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

Commercial Metals stock opened at $40.53 on Tuesday. Commercial Metals has a 52 week low of $37.92 and a 52 week high of $64.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $47.89 and a 200-day moving average of $52.38.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.73 billion. Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 1.70%. Commercial Metals’s revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Commercial Metals will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Commercial Metals’s payout ratio is 120.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Commercial Metals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CMC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 6.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,081,153 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $59,420,000 after acquiring an additional 66,092 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 1.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,714,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $94,208,000 after purchasing an additional 17,931 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 66.0% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 71,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,529,000 after buying an additional 28,297 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc boosted its stake in Commercial Metals by 108.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 18,103 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $995,000 after purchasing an additional 9,400 shares during the period. Finally, Covea Finance grew its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 44.2% during the fourth quarter. Covea Finance now owns 62,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,075,000 after buying an additional 19,000 shares in the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CMC has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Commercial Metals from $54.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Commercial Metals from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Commercial Metals from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BNP Paribas lowered Commercial Metals from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Commercial Metals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.33.

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.