Morgan Stanley Cuts Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Price Target to $56.00

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) had its price target lowered by Morgan Stanley from $65.00 to $56.00 in a research report report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Commercial Metals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Commercial Metals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $56.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Commercial Metals from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Commercial Metals from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.33.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

Shares of CMC stock opened at $47.64 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.92, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.18. Commercial Metals has a fifty-two week low of $45.50 and a fifty-two week high of $64.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a current ratio of 2.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.31.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.85 billion. Commercial Metals had a net margin of 1.70% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. Analysts expect that Commercial Metals will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 16th were paid a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 16th. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.86%.

Institutional Trading of Commercial Metals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Commercial Metals by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,081,153 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $59,420,000 after buying an additional 66,092 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Commercial Metals by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,714,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $94,208,000 after purchasing an additional 17,931 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Commercial Metals by 66.0% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 71,151 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,529,000 after buying an additional 28,297 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 108.0% in the third quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 18,103 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $995,000 after buying an additional 9,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covea Finance boosted its position 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 worth $3,075,000 after acquiring an additional 19,000 shares during the last quarter. 86.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.