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

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

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wolfe Research downgraded Commercial Metals from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BNP Paribas lowered 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 research note on Monday, December 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $75.00 price objective for the company. UBS Group upgraded shares of Commercial Metals from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $56.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Commercial Metals from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.33.

Commercial Metals Price Performance

CMC stock opened at $48.67 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 2.76 and a quick ratio of 1.94. The stock has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 43.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.18. Commercial Metals has a one year low of $45.50 and a one year high of $64.53.

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

Commercial Metals Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 16th were paid a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 16th. Commercial Metals’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.86%.

Institutional Trading of Commercial Metals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CMC. State Street Corp increased its position in Commercial Metals by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,830,412 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $320,439,000 after purchasing an additional 24,665 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Commercial Metals by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,839,601 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $156,093,000 after buying an additional 28,019 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Commercial Metals by 1.9% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,176,959 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $119,646,000 after buying an additional 41,206 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Commercial Metals by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,714,116 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $94,208,000 after acquiring an additional 17,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Commercial Metals by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,462,317 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $80,369,000 after acquiring an additional 18,262 shares during the period. 86.90% of the stock is owned by 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.