Short Interest in Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Increases By 5.9%

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,040,000 shares, an increase of 5.9% from the September 30th total of 2,870,000 shares. Approximately 2.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 781,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Commercial Metals Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of CMC stock opened at $54.43 on Friday. Commercial Metals has a 52-week low of $43.52 and a 52-week high of $61.26. The stock has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15, a PEG ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $52.95 and its 200-day moving average is $54.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 2.78 and a current ratio of 3.94.

Commercial Metals Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.32%. Commercial Metals’s payout ratio is 17.39%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CMC. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Commercial Metals in the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. Archer Investment Corp acquired a new position in shares of Commercial Metals in the second quarter valued at approximately $77,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Commercial Metals by 21.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,572 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Commercial Metals during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $129,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in Commercial Metals in the 2nd quarter valued at $195,000. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CMC shares. Wolfe Research lowered Commercial Metals from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $62.00 target price on shares of Commercial Metals and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.25.

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.