Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Short Interest Up 7.0% in October

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,360,000 shares, a growth of 7.0% from the October 15th total of 3,140,000 shares. Approximately 2.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,010,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CMC has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on Commercial Metals from $56.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Commercial Metals from $58.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 13th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Commercial Metals in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Commercial Metals presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.17.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

CMC stock traded up $0.54 on Friday, hitting $45.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,179,887 shares, compared to its average volume of 962,258. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $46.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.54. Commercial Metals has a 1 year low of $39.85 and a 1 year high of $58.09. The stock has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.26 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 3.73, a quick ratio of 2.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 12th. The basic materials company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.15 billion. Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 22.62% and a net margin of 9.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.45 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Commercial Metals will post 5.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 26th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 25th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Commercial Metals

In related news, CEO Peter R. Matt purchased 6,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $40.30 per share, with a total value of $249,860.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 92,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,714,934.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Stephen William Simpson sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.00, for a total value of $202,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,928 shares in the company, valued at $131,760. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Peter R. Matt acquired 6,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $40.30 per share, with a total value of $249,860.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 92,182 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,714,934.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Commercial Metals

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CMC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Commercial Metals in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $114,477,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Commercial Metals by 22.3% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,494,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $312,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,367,997 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Commercial Metals by 249.8% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 867,246 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,720,000 after acquiring an additional 619,296 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Commercial Metals by 26.7% in the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,506,247 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $123,834,000 after acquiring an additional 527,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Commercial Metals by 371.0% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 657,415 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,124,000 after acquiring an additional 517,834 shares in the last quarter. 82.64% of the stock is 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.