Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Reaches New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $37.92 and last traded at $39.05, with a volume of 2010904 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $41.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Commercial Metals from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. UBS Group reduced their target price on Commercial Metals from $54.00 to $49.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Commercial Metals from $56.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Commercial Metals from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.33.

Commercial Metals Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.21, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.16. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $47.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.76.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 20th. The basic materials company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by ($0.05). The company 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%. The business’s revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Commercial Metals will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Commercial Metals’s payout ratio is currently 120.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John R. Mcpherson purchased 2,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $40.42 per share, for a total transaction of $100,039.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 15,141 shares in the company, valued at approximately $611,999.22. The trade was a 19.54 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Commercial Metals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CMC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Commercial Metals during the 4th quarter worth $69,261,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 87.0% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 15,350.0% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 568,095 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,178,000 after purchasing an additional 564,418 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Commercial Metals by 45.8% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,576,316 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $78,185,000 after buying an additional 495,163 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Commercial Metals by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,754,840 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $87,040,000 after acquiring an additional 446,317 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company’s stock.

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.