Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $62.33.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CMC. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Commercial Metals from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Commercial Metals in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Commercial Metals from $65.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group raised shares of Commercial Metals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $56.00 to $54.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Commercial Metals from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd.

Commercial Metals Stock Performance

Shares of CMC opened at $46.95 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $49.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of 42.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a quick ratio of 1.94, a current ratio of 2.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Commercial Metals has a 52-week low of $45.50 and a 52-week high of $64.53.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78. The firm 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%. Commercial Metals’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.49 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Commercial Metals will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 16th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 16th. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.86%.

Institutional Trading of Commercial Metals

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cim LLC lifted its stake in Commercial Metals by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Cim LLC now owns 41,784 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,072,000 after buying an additional 744 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Commercial Metals in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of Commercial Metals in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,475,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Commercial Metals in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 8,972 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the period. 86.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Commercial Metals

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.