Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC) Given New $56.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

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

Several other equities analysts have also commented on CMC. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Commercial Metals from $65.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wolfe Research lowered Commercial Metals from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Commercial Metals from $62.00 to $58.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Commercial Metals in a report on Monday, December 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $75.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Commercial Metals from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $56.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.33.

Commercial Metals Trading Up 2.9 %

Commercial Metals stock traded up $1.43 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $50.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,662,750 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,130,102. The stock's fifty day moving average is $52.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.76, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a PE ratio of 45.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.18. Commercial Metals has a 1 year low of $45.50 and a 1 year high of $64.53.

Commercial Metals (NYSE:CMC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78. Commercial Metals had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 1.70%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.49 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Commercial Metals will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.

Commercial Metals Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 16th were given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 16th. Commercial Metals's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Commercial Metals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Commercial Metals by 14.2% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 16,724 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $921,000 after purchasing an additional 2,080 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Commercial Metals in the 2nd quarter valued at $656,000. Creative Planning lifted its position in Commercial Metals by 20.5% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 22,903 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,259,000 after acquiring an additional 3,902 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Commercial Metals in the second quarter valued at $452,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Commercial Metals by 749.6% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 30,466 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,674,000 after acquiring an additional 26,880 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.90% of the company's stock.

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.